How to Use the Images

Table of
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(Joseph Brant by Gilbert Stuart courtesy New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown)

(John Johnson by unknown artist, courtesy Johnson Hall State Historic Site)

Questions for illustrations 1 and 2:

1. To have one's portrait painted in the 18th century was a sign of power and status in society. What details in the portraits reveal their very different cultural origins?

2. Molly Brant was the common-law Mohawk wife of Sir William Johnson. She held a higher position in Iroquois society than her brother Joseph and yet there are no known portraits of her. What might this lack of visual evidence suggest about European-American views of the status of women in 18th century society?

* The illustration on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality versions of Illustration 1 and Illustration 2, but be aware that the file will take as much as 25 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.