Historical images of Native Americans by a Swiss artist are finding their way back to North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — More than two dozen historic prints depicting Native American life and culture on the Upper Missouri River nearly 200 years ago will be available thanks to a gift made possible by a North Dakota organization. will soon be more open to the public to purchase the rare aquatints.

The State Historical Society of North Dakota on Wednesday presented four of the 26 aquatints reproduced between 1839 and 1843 from the works of Swiss-born artist Karl Bodmer. He created the work of art during his journey from 1832 to 1834 with Prince Maximilian von Wied-Neuwied through the USA, to the west of what is now Montana.

The Historical Society is reviewing the prints, which have been stored for some time at a San Francisco art house, and will develop a plan to display the images, said Kara Haff, spokeswoman for the State Historical Society.

The aquatints are notable in part because they are more vivid than most historical black-and-white images, said Bill Peterson, director of the State Historical Society.

“It’s not particularly often that we have the opportunity to look at the richness of the colors and the vibrancy and what the paintings and art represent,” Peterson said.

The aquatints probably come from one of Bodmer’s original collections. Aquatints were common in his day and often used to illustrate books, said David Borlaug, owner of the Masters Gallery in Bismarck, which made them easier to acquire.

“An original painting would then be reverse converted into metal, copper or steel by an engraver, which is an art form all its own, and then they would make a print, if you will, from that plate, usually using just one or two colors. Then came the next group of artisans, watercolor artists, who hand-tinted each image and added all the colors individually,” Borlaug said.

The images depict a variety of scenes and people, Haff said, including Fort Union, a Mandan village, an Arikara warrior, the Mandan chief Mato Tope or Four Bears, a Sioux chief’s burial structure, Mandan dog sleds, bison hunting and a scalp dance and travelers along the Missouri River.

The artworks are printed in textbooks and are accessible in other formats and are reproduced in other ways, Haff said. However, it is rare to have ownership of prints made during initial publication, she said. Bodmer’s pictures were created for Maximilian’s book “Travels to the Interior of North America,” she said.

Bodmer used ink and pencil to sketch, but also watercolors, said Borlaug.

“His images are beautiful pieces and an important part of the history of the American West,” said Dakota Goodhouse, a Native American historian and enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. But some of Bodmer’s artwork is posed and arranged, which can mislead viewers about the daily lives of Native Americans, he said.

“When Four Bears dressed up for Bodmer’s portrait, it’s not like he was going about his daily life in complete disguise,” Goodhouse said.

Given Native American issues, Goodhouse wished that a percentage of sales could go toward supporting contemporary Native American efforts to improve education, health and housing.

A few years after Bodmer’s trip, a smallpox epidemic in 1837 nearly wiped out the tribes he portrayed along the upper Missouri. Amy Mossett, a state historical board member and tribal education administrator for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, said entire families died and people had no time to preserve or pass on material possessions.

“So much was lost, and when I look at these images, they somehow remain…the images of our culture when it was very active and very vibrant,” said Mossett, a Mandan/Hidatsa member of the MHA Nation.

It could be coincidence or fate to have the aquatints back in the area where they were created, she said.

“Just thinking about the whole circular approach to life makes me think that there is a reason why they came back here and that they really belong here,” Mossett said.

The State Historical Society is still in the process of determining the provenance of the artwork. North Dakota history buff Sam McQuade Jr. donated $150,000 to the State Historical Society of North Dakota Foundation, which partnered with the Masters Gallery, purchased the artwork and donated it to the State Historical Society for its permanent collection.