CASSILLY ADAMS (1843-1921)

Cassilly Adams (1843-1921), best known for his epic work Custer’s Last Fight (1885), was a painter of the Western frontier and of Native Americans. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, he was a direct descendant of Founding Father John Adams. His work and life are largely unknown as most of his art was commissioned by book publishers and he went uncredited. It took Adams a year to complete his large scale painting Custer’s Last Fight and he used Sioux Indians and cavalrymen in period dress as models to accurately depict the figures and their costumes. The present painting may be one of Adams' studies of Native American robes. Adams may have also been inspired by works by George Catlin (1796-1872), who's paintings focus on Native American portraits and western scenes. Catlin's Portrait of Mah-to-toh-pa-Mandan, dated circa 1861-9 (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., access. no. 1965.16.184), may have been a source for Adams' study.