Alfred Jacob Miller (1810-1874) 
Schim-a-co che High-Lance Crow 
Oil on paper, mounted to board 
Circa 1860 
Oval: 11 3/4 x 10 1/4 in. 

Frame size: 18 3/4 x 17 3/8 in.

Titled in paint: “Schim-a-co che/ High-Lance/ Crow,” with the line “A [Crow] Indian” in ink. Numbered “108” in graphite at lower-left.

Provenance:
The collection of the artist
By descent from the above to Mr. L. Vernon Miller, the artist’s grand-nephew
By inheritance from the above to Mrs. L. Vernon Miller (Katherine, ca. 1965)
Graham Gallery, New York, NY, no. 28818
Gerald Peters (The Peters Corporation), Santa Fe, NM
Conserved 20 September 1978 by Gustav A. Berger
By acquisition from the above to The John F. Eulich Collection of American Western Art, Dallas, TX (1980)
Sold (by the above?) at Sotheby’s New York, 3 December 1998, lot 177, into a private collection

     Alfred Jacob Miller (1810–1874) occupies a singular place in the visual history of the American West. A Baltimore-born, Paris-trained artist, Miller is best known for his sensitive portrayals of Native American peoples, the landscapes of the Rocky Mountain West, and the rapidly changing world of the frontier during a period of profound transformation. Unlike many later representations of the West shaped by myth and nostalgia, Miller’s works were grounded in direct observation, recording the appearance, clothing, customs, and environments of Indigenous communities he encountered during his travels.  In his late twenties, Miller traveled west from New Orleans with the Scottish aristocrat Sir William Drummond Stewart on an expedition to the Rocky Mountains. During this journey in the late 1830s, he created some of the earliest substantial visual records of the Native peoples of the region, including members of the Crow Nation, as well as the landscapes, settlements, and individuals associated with the fur trade. His images preserve a record of Native cultures and western environments at a moment when expansion and settlement were increasingly reshaping the region and displacing Indigenous communities.

     In July 1858, railroad magnate William Thompson Walters commissioned approximately 200 portraits from Miller at $12 each. A related image of this sitter, also numbered 108, is held by the Walters Art Museum. Miller frequently produced multiple versions of his subjects, and three additional depictions of Shim-a-co-che (the more common spelling) are recorded, all executed in watercolor and gouache on paper:  Walters Art Museum 37.1940.39 (Tyler 299A), Gilcrease Museum 02.1024 (Tyler 299), Library and Archives Canada 2833868/1946-111 PIC (Tyler 299B).

     The present work (Tyler 299C) is distinctive in its medium: oil on paper. While watercolor and gouache were practical materials for field studies, oil painting traditionally represented a more deliberate studio process. Although the introduction of commercially available paint tubes in 1841 made oil increasingly portable, artists such as Miller often continued to associate the medium with finished, highly considered works. Compared with the related watercolor and gouache studies, the oil composition demonstrates a greater degree of refinement, particularly in the treatment of the figure, atmosphere, and surrounding landscape.

     The painting may have belonged to what is known as the “L. Vernon Miller Family Album,” a collection assembled by Miller’s grand-nephew in Baltimore. Like many works preserved within this family group, it remained in the artist’s lineage before later entering the market.

     Through works such as Schim-a-co-che High-Lance Crow, Miller helped shape the visual understanding of the American West. His paintings are significant not only for their artistic achievement but also for their role as historical documents, preserving images of Native American individuals and western landscapes during a period of dramatic cultural and environmental change.

Tyler, Ron, ed. Alfred Jacob Miller: Artist of the Oregon Trail. Fort Worth, TX: Amon Carter Museum, 1982: 299C (p. 299). 
Rick Stewart. The American West: Legendary Artists of the Frontier. Dallas, 1986: pp. 18-19, illustrated.