Charles Deas (December 22, 1818 – March 23, 1867) was an American painter noted for his oil paintings of Native Americans and fur trappers of the mid-19th century.

Biography

Charles Deas was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. He attempted, and failed, to obtain an appointment to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, New York. As a young man, he studied under John Sanderson in Philadelphia, and subsequently embarked upon a career as a painter. The

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

in New York soon recognized his work, electing him as an associate member in 1839. By 1840, he had decided to emulate one of his influences,

George Catlin George Catlin (July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American adventurer, lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the Old West. Traveling to the We ...

, and travel westward in the United States. It was during travels through the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Territory that he became a noted painter of trappers and American Indians. By 1841, Deas decided to establish his base in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. During this time, Deas would typically spend "a few months among the Indian tribes, familiarizing himself with their manners and customs." The artist's works are described as expressing "psychological tension, perceived danger, alarm, and flight," epitomized by his painting ''Death Struggle'' which depicts an Indian and trapper locked in combat while falling to their deaths from a cliff. Deas was most famous while he was still alive. One critic, in 1947, stated that the painter was considered to have "enjoyed more of a reputation during his own lifetime" than currently. Between 1841 and 1848, Deas' regularly exhibited his works in St. Louis at the "Mechanics Fairs." He also shipped many of his works, for sale, to the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...

as well as to New York's

American Art Union The American Art-Union (1839–1851) was a subscription-based organization whose goal was to enlighten and educate an American public to a national art, while providing a support system for the viewing and sales of art “executed by artists in th ...

. Deas returned to New York in 1848 and expressed a desire to open a gallery of Indian art. Before he could do this he was declared legally insane. On May 23, 1848, Deas was committed to New York's Bloomingdale Asylum (now occupied by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

). He was institutionalized for the rest of his life. During this period, his paintings were described as being particularly intense. "One of his wild pictures, representing a black sea, over which a figure hung, suspended from a ring, while from the waves a monster was springing, was so horrible, that a sensitive artist fainted at the sight." Deas died of "apoplexy" (possible stroke) in Bloomingdale Asylum on March 23, 1867. Deas' maternal grandfather was the 18th century American politician

Ralph Izard Ralph Izard (January 23, 1741/1742May 30, 1804) was a U.S. politician. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1794, and owned slaves. Early life Izard was born at "The Elms" near Charleston, South Carolina. He was ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Selected works

*''Robert Watts, Jr.'' (1838), oil on canvas,

St. Louis Mercantile Library The St. Louis Mercantile Library, founded in 1846 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, was originally established as a membership library, and is the oldest extant library west of the Mississippi River. Since 1998 the library has been housed at the ...

*''Walking the Chalk'' (1838), oil on canvas,

Houston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

*''Turkey Shooting'' (1838), oil on canvas,

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the su ...

*''Self Portrait'' (1840), graphite on buff wove paper,

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

*''Wa-kon-cha-hi-re-ga'' (1840), oil on canvas,

*'' Winnebago with Peace Medal and Red Pipestone'' (1840), oil on canvas,

*''Winnebago with Bear-Claw Necklace'' (1840), oil on canvas,

*''Winnebago with Bear-Claw Necklace and Gun-Stock Club'' (1840), oil on canvas,

* ''Winnebagos Playing Checkers'' (1842), private collection *''Devil and Tom Walker'', (1843), oil on canvas, private collection *''Long Jakes'' (1844), oil on canvas,

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between t ...

*''Dragoons Crossing River'' (1844), private collection *''The Death Struggle'' (1845), oil on canvas,

Shelburne Museum Shelburne Museum is a museum of art, design, and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the museum grounds. It is located ...

*''A Group of

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

'', (1845), oil on canvas,

Amon Carter Museum Amon may refer to: Mythology * Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra * Aamon, a Goetic demon People Momonym * Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah Given name * Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American pu ...

*''The Trapper and His Family'', (1845),

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

*''The Voyageurs'', (1846), oil on canvas,

*''Prairie Fire'', (1847), oil on canvas,

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

*''Indian Warrior on the Edge of a Precipice (1847)

Bibliography

* Clark, Carol et al. ''Charles Deas and 1840s America'', Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2009. () (OCLC ) * Tuckerman, Henry T., "Deas" I
or, Sketches of American painters''
New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1847. pp. 202–214. (OCLC )

References

External links

Self portrait of Charles Deas held at the National Academy Museum

Kirk Johnson, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 24, 2010
SIRIS (Smithsonian) listing of Deas paintings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deas, Charles 1818 births 1867 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters Artists from Philadelphia Artists of the American West Schuyler family Van Cortlandt family