American Indians in British art, 1700-1840 / Stephanie Pratt.

This book explores the representation of American Indians in British art 1700-1840. During the eighteenth century, the British allied themselves with Indian tribes to counter the American colonial rebellion. In response to this development, British artists produced a large volume of work focusing on American Indians, including paintings, sculptures and graphic media. Although these works contained a familiar bias, depicting their subjects as either noble or ignoble savages, they also represented American Indians as active participants in contemporary society. Placing the works in a historical context, the author shows how the roles of American Indians were depicted, how their contact with Europeans was interpreted, and how their portrayal moved from the symbolic, to that of actors on the colonial stage.