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American 19th Century

Chief Jumper of the Seminoles, possibly 1837/1838

Not on View

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 76.2 x 63 cm (30 x 24 13/16 in.)

framed: 99 x 84.4 x 9.5 cm (39 x 33 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

Accession Number

1953.5.77

Artists / Makers

American 19th Century (artist)

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Provenance

Recorded as from New York State. Reportedly purchased from a descendant of "Captian Frazier" by an unidentified dealer.[1] (Thurston Thacher, Hyde Park, New York), by whom sold in 1949 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1953.

[1] A label affixed to the reverse of the painting reads: "...taken by order of Major / Frazer, paymaster general." The only Frazer or Fraser who was both a major and a paymaster general in the U.S. army was active during the Second Seminole War of 1835-1842. Major Donald Fraser's station as a paymaster general in Florida from 1836 to 1841 makes him likely to be the "Frazer" of the inscription. Another officer, Captain Upton S. Fraser, is documented as having been shot and killed by or in the presence of Jumper [subject of the painting] during Dade's Massacre, making it unlikely that he was the commissioner of this portrait. Upton Fraser is listed in Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 2 vols. (Washington, 1903), 1: 434. Edwin C. McReynolds, The Seminoles (Norman, Oklahoma, 1957), 154, is the only source located which states that Jumper took aim specifically at "Captain U.S. Frazer [sic]." Yet a third Frazer served in the Florida Seminole War between 1836 and 1839, William Frazer (1816-1844). However, his title (second Lieutenant) does not match the one on the label, and there is no documentation of his direct connection to Jumper. See George W. Cullum, Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, 4 vols. (Boston, 1891), 1: no. 875.

Associated Names

Garbisch, Edgar William, Mr. and Mrs.
Thacher, Thurston
Unidentified dealer
Unknown Patron

Exhibition History

1999: Extended loan for use by Secretary William Richardson, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., 1999-2001.

2009: Extended loan for use by President Barack Obama, The White House, Washington, D.C., 2009-2017.

Bibliography

1980: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 286, repro., as Oneida Chief Umpus

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 395, repro.

1992: Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 510-512, repro. 511.