Cover; Half Title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Prologue: On Lives and Empire; 1 The Warrior-Diplomat: Ostenaco of the Appalachians; 2 The Artist-Philosopher: Reynolds in Britain; 3 A Cherokee Envoy and the Portrait That Failed; 4 Home to a New World: Ostenaco's American Revolution; Interlude: On Ornaments; 5 Man on a Mission: Mai from Ra'iatea; 6 The Master Ascendant: Reynolds Becomes President; 7 A Pacific Celebrity and the Portrait That Worked; 8 Return of the Traveler: Mai's Last Voyage; Epilogue: On Dying in the Eighteenth Century; Notes; Acknowledgments; Index; A; B; C; D; E FG; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z
Summary:
A portrait of empire through the biographies of a Native American, a Pacific Islander, and the British artist who painted them both. This engaging history of empire brings together the stories of Joshua Reynolds and two of his portraiture subjects - Ostenaco and Mai - and explores the intrusion of the British Empire into indigenous societies and the resilience of two peoples. Fullagar uncovers the life of Ostenaco, tracing his emergence as a Cherokee warrior, his engagement with colonists through war and peace, and his eventual rejection of imperial politics during the American Revolution. She delves into the story of Mai, exploring his youth in Ra'iatea, his confrontation with war and displacement, his voyage to London on Cook's imperial expedition, and his return home with a burning ambition to right past wrongs. Woven throughout is the story of Joshua Reynolds, growing up in Devon near a key port in England, becoming a portraitist of empire, rising to the top of Britain's art world and yet maintaining an ambivalence about his nation's expansionist trajectory.
Series:
Lewis Walpole series in eighteenth-century culture and history
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.