Flat-Head Woman and Child
Paul Kane, del. and Vincent Brooks, lith.
[xF1013 K16 following p. 204]

Paul Kane
WANDERINGS OF AN ARTIST AMONG THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA, FROM CANADA TO VANCOUVER'S ISLAND AND OREGON, THROUGH THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY'S TERRITORY AND BACK AGAIN. London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, and Roberts, 1859.

This 455-page volume includes eight color plates and thirteen woodcut illustrations, in addition to a partially colored folding map. "The author, after four years of study of art in Europe, returned to Canada filled with the determination to fulfill an early formed design of executing a series of drawings, of scenes in Indian life."

To accomplish this, Paul Kane traversed, almost alone, the territories of the Red River Settlement; the valley of the Saskatchewan; across the Rocky Mountains, down the Columbia River; the shores of the Puget Sound, and Vancouver's Island. The volume begins with a simple declaration; "I left Toronto on the 17th of June 1845, with no companions but my portfolio and box of paints . . ."

The colorful lithographs, such as "Flat-Head Woman and Child," are attributed to "Paul Kane, del. and Vincent Brooks, lith." Kane traveled west with Sir George Simpson in 1846 and extensively toured the Oregon Territory in 1847, returning to Canada the following year. An accomplished artist, his work is now recognized as including some of the most significant illustrations of North American aboriginal life from this period.