Portrait of Chief Geronimo
[Geronimo is a Spanish name derived from Jerome, Bedonkohe Apache Tribal name: Goyahkla or Gothalay, One Who Yawns]

By Elbridge Ayer Burbank

Mother: Juana
Father: Taklishim [The Gray One]
Maternal Clan: Unknown
Paternal Clan: Unknown
Spouse: Alope
Children: They had three children.
Siblings: 3 brothers and 4 sisters.

Goyahkla was born in 1829 in Southern Arizona. Burbank said this about Geronimo: “I never had a finer sitter than Geronimo, although sometimes he became very nervous while posing. I would give him a few minutes’ rest until he quieted down. Invariably upon hearing a horse or footsteps, he would rush to the door and see who was coming. He seemed to have a haunting fear of being pursued, even though he was at the time a prisoner. As we worked day after day, my idea of Geronimo, the Apache, changed. I became so attracted to the old Indian that eventually I painted seven portraits of him.” From: “Burbank Among the Indians,” Mr. Burbank’s autobiography.

Oil on canvas. L 51.1, W 40.7 cm
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, HUTR 3509