American woman and her political peers
Creator: Briggs-Wall, Henrietta
Date: 1893
This cabinet card shows a painting titled American Woman and Her Political Peers by Henrietta Briggs-Wall. On the reverse, is a description of the painting's representation.

Arkansas City, Kansas
Creator: Bridge, Esther Y.
Date: October 1870
This painting was drawn by Esther Y. Bridge showing early Arkansas City from a distance. Sleeth's Mill and Speer's Mill are featured in the two inserts below the larger painting.

Arthur Tice painting
Creator: Tice, Arthur
Date: between 1900 and 1955
Painting of Jesus by Arthur L. Tice. Tice was known for landscape, portrait, and religious paintings. A life-long Kansan, he was the State Artist of Kansas for seven years and taught art at Midland College in Atchison from 1900 until 1918, when he left on a lecture tour of Kansas. His religious paintings can be found in churches thoughout the country. Tice died in 1955.

Battle of the Big Blue
Creator: Reader, S. J.
Date: 1897
This painting depicts Union forces fighting Confederate soldiers at the Battle of the Big Blue River on October 22, 1864, the day before the defeat of Price at Westport. The artist, Samuel Reader, fought for the Union as part of the Second Kansas State Militia, whose members were was almost all from Shawnee County. Reader served as an officer in the "field and staff" of the militia with the rank of First Lieutenant, Assistant Quartermaster. In the Battle of the Big Blue he was captured by Confederates, who were on their way to Texas when Reader escaped and returned to his farm in southeast Kansas. In this painting, which is housed in a gilded wood frame (not shown), timber fences flank both sides of a tree-lined road. A stone building and horse-drawn caisson (ammunition chest) are visible to the right, and a mounted cannon is on the left. Armed men, wearing brown and blue coats, are scattered along the road. The Union infantry skirmish line, marked by a federal flag, recedes into the background. Confederate forces, with Confederate flag, are visible in the background to the left. Elizabeth Reader, the daughter of the artist, donated the painting in 1909.

Bennett C. Riley
Date: 1880s
This photograph shows a portrait of Bennett Riley that was probably commissioned by his family in the 1880s. Riley died June 9, 1853. The portrait has resided at the U.S. Cavalry Museum at Fort Riley, Kansas, since about 1903. Bennett Riley, after whom Fort Riley was named, had a long and prestigious career in the U. S. military. Born in Virginia in 1787, he entered the army in 1813. In 1829 he commanded the first military escort on the Santa Fe Trail. In that same year, he succeeded Colonel Henry Leavenworth as commander of Fort Leavenworth. In 1847 he became a brigadier general. He also served during the Mexican War and, in 1848, he served as the last territorial governor of California, where he helped create their state constitution.

Black Hawk, Sauk Indian
Creator: Catlin, George, 1796-1872
Date: 1832
This portrait, painted by the well-known artist George Catlin, depicts the fierce leader of the Sauk and Fox tribe after his arrest in 1832. Black Hawk and some of his tribe had resisted their removal to lands west of the Mississippi River, but the Black Hawk War, as it came to be known, ended in defeat. The original of this portrait is on exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Camp of the Peace Commissioners at Medicine Lodge Creek
Creator: Stieffel, Hermann
Date: 1867
A copy of the painting by Hermann Stieffel titled, Camp of the Peace Commissioners, which depicts the location of the Medicine Lodge Creek treaties with various Indian tribes in late October 1867. The original painting can be found at the Smithsonian Institution. Funds for digitization provided by Mr. Steve Peckel in memory of William Chalfant.

Custer's Last Fight
Creator: Adams, Cassilly C., 1843-1921
Date: 1885
A photograph copy of Custer's Last Fight, painted by Cassilly Adams, which depicts the Battle of Little Bighorn. Funds for digitization provided by Mr. Steve Peckel in memory of William Chalfant.

Custer's Last Stand
Date: 1870s
A drawing depicting the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 26, 1876. It is unclear whether the painter is Cassilly Adams or Theodore B. Pitman. Funds for digitization provided by Mr. Steve Peckel in memory of William Chalfant.

Dedication of eight mural paintings
Date: April 30, 1978
This brochure has pictures and descriptions of the eight mural paintings in the Kansas State Capitol and information about the artist, Lumen Martin Winter.

Deserted Kansas Town
Creator: Tavernier, Jules
Date: 1873
Grisaille watercolor sketch of a deserted town street with ramshackle buildings. The sketch is titled "Deserted Kansas Town" and was executed by Jules Tavernier. Tavernier was born in Paris in 1844 and trained as an artist in France. He served as a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War, and his drawings of war-torn Paris were flown by hot air balloon to London for publication. After the war he worked as an illustrator in London and then in New York for Harper's Weekly. In 1872, Harper's sent him on a trip across the United States on an assignment to document the American West. He arrived in San Francisco in 1874. This sketch is most likely a scene that Tavernier saw while in Kansas on that trip. Tavernier went on to be a well-known artist in California before moving to Hawaii, where he was part of a group of artists known as the Volcano School. He died in Honolulu in 1889.

Free State Hotel, Lawrence, Kansas Territory
Creator: Gibbons, Robert O.
Date: Unknown
A painting of the Free State Hotel, Lawrence, Kansas Territory, by Robert O. Gibbons. In May 1856, the proslavery sheriff of Douglas County, Samuel Jones, led a posse into Lawrence, the major Free-State stronghold. The chief damage was the burning of the Free State Hotel as shown in this painting.

John Steuart Curry
Date: Between 1941 and 1942
John Steuart Curry standing on a ladder by the "Tragic Prelude" mural.

Kansas Pioneers
Creator: Stone, George M.
Date: 1920
Small oil on canvas painting of pioneers and a wagon train descending from hill. Painting is a small study for a larger painting. In foreground, at lower right, two male figures carrying rifles. A wagon train painted in upper right. Wagons are pulled by oxen. Small dog in lower left. Women in Victorian dress, male figures, and horseman, walking near wagons. A seated Native-American figure in upper right. Because painting is a study, figures are painted with little detail. Pencil gridlines drawn onto painting by artist. Painting is housed in ridged gilded wood frame.

Kansas State House murals by John Steuart Curry
Creator: Curry, John Steuart, 1897-1946
Date: Between 1940 and 1942
In this pamphlet, Kansas artist John Stuart Curry describes murals he created for the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka, Kansas, include the "Tragic Prelude" featuring John Brown.

Kennekuk, "The Kickapoo Prophet"
Date: between 1819 and 1845
This portrait by an unidentified artist depicts the Kickapoo chief Kennekuk, who moved with his tribe to Indian Territory (present-day Kansas) in 1832. The Kickapoo tribe had originally claimed land in Illinois, but they ceded this land to the United States in 1819. In the next year they moved to lands in Missouri, where they stayed for twelve years. The reverse of the print refers to Kennekuk as the "Kickapoo Prophet."

Last Chance Store, Council Grove, Kansas
Creator: Bell, Shawna
Date: June 4, 2016
This is a watercolor of the Last Chance Store in Council Grove, Kansas. Shawna Bell painted this scene during the 2016 Kansas Archeology Training Program (KATP) Field School excavation of the Last Chance Store. The Last Chance Store was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Painting
Creator: Reid, Albert Turner
Date: between 1945 and 1955
Unfinished oil painting by Albert T. Reid (1873-1955) depicting George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) leading the soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry out of Fort Hays. The artist began the painting as a result of a local campaign to commission the work. The campaign failed to reach its target amount, however, and the artist stopped work on the painting.

Painting by Dowdal Davis
Creator: Davis, Dowdal
Date: 1931
Impressionist-style landscape painting created by Dowdal Davis in 1931. Davis was born in Independence, Kansas, in 1913. While a student at Independence High School, Davis showed a talent for art, leading the Daubers Club and creating cartoons for the yearbook. In 1931, he entered the Emporia Art Contest, though it is unknown if this is the painting he used in the competition. After graduating in 1931, Davis attended the University of Kansas, where he was involved in desegregation efforts at the school. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1936. He went on to become the general manager of the Kansas City Call, a newspaper serving the black community of Kansas City, and served as president of the Negro Newspaper Publishers Association. President Harry Truman named Davis to the President's Committee on Government Contracts, a group that reviewed Federal contracts for discriminatory actions. In 1955, Kansas basketball coach Phog Allen enlisted Davis' help in recruiting Wilt Chamberlain to play basketball at the university. Allen believed that demonstrating the success of the university's black alumni would influence Chamberlain's decision. Davis continued to be a leader in the black community until his untimely death due to a heart attack in 1957.

Pile Bridge, Topeka, Kansas Territory
Creator: Worrall, Henry, 1825-1902
Date: c. 1858
A painting by Henry Worrall of a pile bridge in Topeka, Kansas Territory, painted sometime between 1857 to 1860.

Robert Taft correspondence related to frontier artists, Adams - Blakelock
Date: 1930-1955
A series of research correspondence from the Robert Taft collection relating to frontier artists. Robert Taft (1894-1955) was a professor of chemistry and author on the subjects of photography and art. The artists included here are Cassilly Adams, J. W. Albert, J. W. Alexander, Thomas Allen, Francis G. Atwood, James M. Bagley, George H. Baker, William Henry Bartlett, William Holbrook Beard, Joseph Becker, Otto Becker, Albert C. Berghaus, Albert Bierstadt, George C. Bingham, William Bishop, and Ralph A. Blakelock.

Robert Taft correspondence related to frontier artists, Blumenshein - Cary
Date: 1930-1955
A series of research correspondence from the Robert Taft collection relating to frontier artists. Robert Taft (1894-1955) was a professor of chemistry and author on the subjects of photography and art. The artists included here are Ernest L. Blumenshein, Karl Bodmer, C. E. H. Bonwill, George D. Brewerton, Albertus Del Orient Browere, Grafton T. Brown, Joseph G. Bruff, George de Forest Brush, Edwin Bryant, J. W. Buel, Harold D. Bugbee, Elbridge Ayer Burbank, Frederick A. Butman, Edgar S. Cameron, A. H. Campbell, Solomon Carvalho, and William de la Montagne Cary.

Robert Taft correspondence related to frontier artists, Catlin - Deming
Date: 1930-1955
A series of research correspondence from the Robert Taft collection relating to frontier artists. Robert Taft (1894-1955) was a professor of chemistry and author on the subjects of photography and art. The artists included here are George Catlin, Henry Caylor, Carl Christian Anton Christensen, Samuel Colman, Vincent Colyer, George Victor Cooper, Eanger Irving Couse, H. F. Cox, Charles Craig, Henry H. Cross, Edwin A. Curley, Frank H. Cushing, Felix Octavius Carr Darley, Theodore R. Davis, Charles Deas, and Edwin W. Deming.

Robert Taft correspondence related to frontier artists, Dickerman - Foote
Date: 1930-1955
A series of research correspondence from the Robert Taft collection relating to frontier artists. Robert Taft (1894-1955) was a professor of chemistry and author on the subjects of photography and art. The artists included here are Sumner Dickerman, E. Didier, Maynard Dixon, William H. Dougal, William Herbert Dunton, John Durkin, Thomas Eakins, Lawrence C. Earl, Thomas Martin Easterly, Seth Eastman, Elk Eber, Frederick von Egloffstein, Henry A. Elkins, Henry W. Elliott, George H. Ellsbury, W. A. Emory, Henry F. Farny, Father Nicholas Point, Harry Fenn, and Mary Hallock Foote.

Robert Taft correspondence related to frontier artists, Ford - Hamilton
Date: 1930-1955
A series of research correspondence from the Robert Taft collection relating to frontier artists. Robert Taft (1894-1955) was a professor of chemistry and author on the subjects of photography and art. The artists included here are Henry Chapman Ford, R. Atkinson Fox, Paul Frenzeny and Jules Tavernier, Gilbert William Gaul, Sanford Robinson Gifford, J. B. Girard, James F. Gookins, Elling William Gollings, Adolphe Goupil, Charles Graham, Ernest Henry Griset, John Hafen, and Hamilton Hamilton.