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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1807

Joseph Brant by William Berczy

William Berczy · c. 1807

A full-length portrait of Joseph Brant as a Grand River leader, painted around 1807 by William Berczy, who knew him personally.

Painted by an artist who personally knew Brant, showing him as a leader of the Grand River Mohawk community.

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Painting of a man in a white shirt and long red cloak, with a dark sash, pointing to the left with one arm. He holds a long rifle and wears a feather in his hair. A dog stands at the lower left by a river and trees under a pale sky.
William Berczy, Joseph Brant, c. 1807.

About this source

What it is

This full-length painting of Joseph Brant was made around 1807 by William Berczy, an artist who knew Brant personally in Upper Canada.

It shows Brant in a white shirt and long red cloak with a dark sash, holding a rifle and pointing into the distance, with a dog and a river landscape at his side.

Why it matters

Unlike the earlier London portraits, this image shows Brant in his later life as a leader of the Mohawk community along the Grand River in Upper Canada. Because Berczy actually knew Brant, the portrait offers a view shaped by personal acquaintance rather than public curiosity about an exotic visitor.

Look closer

  • How does showing Brant in a landscape with a rifle and dog change the impression given by the earlier studio portraits?
  • Why might an artist who knew Brant personally choose to paint him this way?
  • What does the setting suggest about Brant's role in the Grand River community?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Joseph Brant by Charles Willson Peale

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Joseph Brant by Ezra Ames

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