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Secondary sourcePhotograph1925

Sitting Bull, Photographed by U.S.J. Dunbar

U.S.J. Dunbar · 1925

A 1925 glass negative photograph showing a man painting a life-size figure representing Sitting Bull in traditional dress.

Shows a later artistic representation of Sitting Bull being created decades after his death.

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Black and white photograph of an older man in a cap, glasses, and smock holding a palette and brush, painting a life-size figure of a Native American man wearing a feathered war bonnet, beaded necklaces, and a decorated buckskin garment with bison designs.
U.S.J. Dunbar, Sitting Bull, 1925. National Photo Company Collection.

About this source

What it is

This is a glass negative photograph from 1925, taken by or for U.S.J. Dunbar and held in the National Photo Company Collection. It shows an older man in work clothes painting a life-size figure dressed as a Native American man wearing a feathered war bonnet and buckskin clothing decorated with bison designs.

Why it matters

The photograph was taken decades after Sitting Bull's death in 1890, so it does not show him directly, but a later artistic representation being created. It reveals how Sitting Bull's image was being recreated and commemorated in American popular culture in the 1920s.

Look closer

  • Who do you think the painted figure represents, and how is he dressed?
  • Why might someone create a life-size painted figure of Sitting Bull decades after his death?
  • What does this image tell us about how Native American leaders were remembered in early 20th-century America?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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