Hayne Hudjihini, Eagle of Delight

Henry Inman

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Inman’s portraits of Native Americans were painted in preparation for hand-colored lithographs to be made for a publication by the Head of Indian Affairs, Thomas L. McKenney—"The History of the Indian Tribes of North America" (1836–44). These distinguished leaders had originally been painted from life by Charles Bird King, when invited to Washington in 1822. King’s portraits were destroyed in a fire at the Smithsonian Institution in 1865. This rare portrayal of a Native American woman, Hayne Hudjihini, Eagle of Delight—wife of Sumonyeacathee, Chief of the Otoe-Missouria people—emphasizes her distinctive beauty and bearing. She is adorned with earrings, necklaces, and a silver bracelet. Read a Native Perspective on this work.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art