''Colonel Guy Johnson and Karonghyontye (Captain David Hill)'' is a 1776 portrait by

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

, an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence. Benjamin West was among the founders of the Royal Academy in London, serving its president from 1792 to 1805 and 1806 to 1820. The portrait depicts the military officer and diplomat

Guy Johnson Guy Johnson ( 1740 – 5 March 1788) was an Irish military officer and diplomat. He served on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War, having migrated to the Province of New York as a young man and worked with his uncle, Sir Wi ...

and the

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

chief Karonghyontye (who also went by the English name of David Hill). Johnson was the British superintendent of northeastern America's six Indian nations and commissioned the portrait in 1776 while in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to secure that royal appointment. Sailing from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Johnson must have been accompanied by his close friend Karonghyontye. The alliance between British forces and several Indian tribes seriously threatened the rebel colonists' chances of victory during the Revolutionary War. In the portrait Benjamin West signifies Johnson's role as ambassador to the Indians by equipping him in a red-coated uniform with moccasins, wampum belt, Indian blanket, and Mohawk cap. Karonghyontye is shown pointing to a peace pipe, while Johnson grasps a musket. This could suggest that harmony between Europeans and Indians will be maintained at all costs. The concept of cooperation extends to the background, where an Indian family gathers peacefully before a British military tent.National Gallery of Art
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References

{{Benjamin West 1776 in art Collections of the National Gallery of Art Paintings by Benjamin West