Summary

Author	attributed to Owen Staples (1866–1949), based on the engraving published by Benson John Lossing[1]
Description	English: A painting of Shawnee chief Tecumseh, in water colors on platinum print, based on Lossing's 1868 engraving.[1] Deutsch: Version in Aquarell auf Platindruck von Benson John Lossings Holzschnitt des Shawnee-Häuptlings Tecumseh, nach Vorlage(n) des Händlers Pierre Le Dru (und eines unbekannten Zeichners). Einzelheiten zu Quellen und Authentizität von Lossings Werk finden sich in dessen Beschreibung auf Commons.
Date	1915[1]
Medium	Platinum print with watercolor
Dimensions	height: 215 mm (8.46 in); width: 176 mm (6.92 in) dimensions QS:P2048,215U174789 dimensions QS:P2049,176U174789
Collection	Toronto Public Library    Native name Toronto Public Library Location Toronto, Ontario, Canada Coordinates 43° 40′ 18.12″ N, 79° 23′ 13.2″ W   Established 1884 Website www.torontopubliclibrary.ca Authority file : Q2901516 VIAF: 139203769 ISNI: 0000000106655110 LCCN: n82220766 SUDOC: 028325710 NKC: ko2016926051 WorldCat institution QS:P195,Q2901516
Accession number	JRR 3358 Cab
Object history	Harper & Brothers, Le Dru, Pierre, fl. 1808 photograph after Owen Staples
Credit line	Gift of J. Ross Robertson
Inscriptions	Below: TECHUMTHA
Source/Photographer	https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMDC-JRR3358&R=DC-JRR3358
Permission (Reusing this file)	Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929. Public domain works must be out of copyright in both the United States and in the source country of the work in order to be hosted on the Commons. If the work is not a U.S. work, the file must have an additional copyright tag indicating the copyright status in the source country. Note: This tag should not be used for sound recordings.PD-1923Public domain in the United States//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tecumseh02.jpg Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse This Canadian work is in the public domain in Canada because its copyright has expired due to one of the following: 1. it was subject to Crown copyright and was first published more than 50 years ago, or it was not subject to Crown copyright, and 2. it is a photograph that was created prior to January 1, 1949, or 3. the creator died prior to January 1, 1972. You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States. Note that this work might not be in the public domain in countries that do not apply the rule of the shorter term and have copyright terms longer than life of the author plus 50 years. In particular, Mexico is 100 years, Jamaica is 95 years, Colombia is 80 years, Guatemala and Samoa are 75 years, Switzerland and the United States are 70 years, and Venezuela is 60 years. العربية ∙ বাংলা ∙ čeština ∙ Deutsch ∙ English ∙ español ∙ suomi ∙ français ∙ italiano ∙ 日本語 ∙ 한국어 ∙ македонски ∙ മലയാളം ∙ Nederlands ∙ português ∙ português do Brasil ∙ sicilianu ∙ slovenščina ∙ 简体中文 ∙ 繁體中文 ∙ +/−
Other versions	Lossing's original (1868) Jacques Reich after Lossing (1889) 1901 illustration with the British uniform removed from The Battle of Tippecanoe (1911)

Authenticy

According to Tecumseh biographer John Sugden, "No fully authenticated portrait of the Shawnee leader exists."^[2] In 1868, Benson John Lossing published his Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812, which included a portrait of Tecumseh. Until that time, no portrait of Tecumseh was known to exist. Lossing said he had discovered pencil sketches of Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa in 1848, which were then in the possession of the son of Pierre Le Dru, a French trader. Le Dru was said to have made the sketches in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1808.^[3]

Lossing altered the original sketch of Tecumseh by keeping the head as depicted by Le Dru, but adding a medal and the uniform of a brigadier general of the British Army. Lossing said that he seen a drawing of Tecumseh dressed that way in 1858. This drawing, he explained, had been made at Fort Malden in 1812 after the surrender of Detroit when Tecumseh was in "full dress" to celebrate the capture of Detroit.^[3] Lossing's depiction of Tecumseh in a British uniform was based on the erroneous belief that Tecumseh had been a British general, although he did possess a uniform coat that he sometimes wore.^[2]

Sudgen noted that Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa were never in Vincennes at the same time, so Le Dru might have mistaken one of Tenskwatawa's companions for Tecumseh, which means the only image we have of Tecumseh might not be authentic. Nevertheless, writes Sugden, "Lossing's portrait is the nearest we have to an authentic representation."^[4]

References