Two Indians and a White Man in a Canoe

Two Indians and a White Man in a Canoe

Pavel Petrovich Svinin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this illustration for his book "A Picturesque Voyage in North America" (1815), Svinin combined his self-portrait with depictions of two Osage Indians borrowed from the work of Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin. Although he likely did not have such an encounter with American Indians during his travels, he may have wanted this composite group—surrounded by an unspoiled landscape—to provide a hopeful image of harmonious relations between Indians and Euro-Americans.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two Indians and a White Man in a CanoeTwo Indians and a White Man in a CanoeTwo Indians and a White Man in a CanoeTwo Indians and a White Man in a CanoeTwo Indians and a White Man in a Canoe

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.