This is a "pencil" of "Little Bird" an Arapaho which was drawn using a photograph for reference taken by photographer, Frank A. Rinehart.

What an honor, I have received an email from Little Bird's great granddaughter Loretta Little Bird Steere. She was able to straighten out a couple of things I had written here. She said the portrait of Little Bird was taken at the TransMississippi & International Exposition in 1898.

There are a couple things about this portrait worth noting. Very strangely, "Little Bird" is wearing a crucifix around his neck and it appears to be a cross on his arm cloth. The other thing worth mentioning, it looks like he is wearing a political pin on his lapel. Loretta Little Bird Steere believes the picture is of William McKinley (1843-1901) who was president 1897 to 1901. What a great face and a fantastic study.

The original is 7.5" x 9.5" overall. It is drawn on medium weight, hot press Crescent Illustration Board. German made Faber-Castell Drawing Pencils were used. The majority of the "pencil' was done with a #6 lead, while the remainder was darkened with a #8 lead. Total time to complete was almost 14.5 hours.