The Prophet...professed peace and asked for another "talk"

Date1906

Artist Stanley Massey Arthurs (American painter, 1877–1950)

Illustration Citation"General Harrison, the Hero of Tippecanoe," by Lynn Tew Sprague, in Outing Magazine, September 1906; reproduced in The American Historical Scene as Depicted by Stanley Arthurs (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1935)

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions36 3/8 × 24 5/8 in. (92.4 × 62.5 cm)
frame: 40 5/8 × 28 3/8 in. (103.2 × 72.1 cm)

Credit LineLouisa du Pont Copeland Memorial Fund, 1951

Object number1951-4

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPAINTING

Label TextIn popular reporting of European-Americans' attempts to seize land west of the Appalachians and the resulting Native American resistance, writers often idealized the Shawnee chief Tecumseh and demonized his brother Olliwacheca, considered by Native Americans a holy man and called The Prophet, who was far less conciliatory. Here, Olliwacheca addresses William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory, in an attempt to block Harrison's further westward expansion. The author's sarcastic use of "talk" reflects whites' distrust of Olliwacheca. Stanley Arthurs captures their skepticism in the poses of Harrison and his aides.

One of Howard Pyle's few students who were native Delawareans, Stanley Arthurs purchased Pyle's studio after his death in 1911 and remained in Wilmington throughout his career. In 1912, he was one of the founders of the organization that became the Delaware Art Museum.