John Eliot Preaching to the Indians
Felix Octavius Carr Darley
Date unknown · Ink washes, graphite, gum arabic, and sgraffito on smooth-surfaced off-white wove paper · The American Wing
Darley was one of the most prolific American illustrators of his day. He created illustrations for the works of such authors as Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in addition to depictions of historical events and frontier life, including images of American Indians. In this drawing, Darley’s subject is the Puritan preacher John Eliot (ca. 1604–1690), a missionary who attempted to convert Massachusetts Indians to Christianity and translated the Bible into the local Indian languages. Here the brightly illuminated Eliot makes a gesture of blessing to his audience like John the Baptist in traditional Christian iconography.
- Artist
- Felix Octavius Carr Darley
- Date
- Date unknown
- Medium
- Ink washes, graphite, gum arabic, and sgraffito on smooth-surfaced off-white wove paper
- Culture
- American
- Department
- The American Wing
- Credit line
- Gift of Martha J. Fleischman and Barbara G. Fleischman, 1999
