Simon, John | Mezzotint of Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row, one of the "Four Kings" who met Queen Anne in 1710

Simon, John

Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row. London: Printed for Jno Bowles and Son, N.D. [circa 1755]

Mezzotint on laid paper (357 x 268 mm). Third state; light soiling, a crease, and a few short closed tears in the margins, with one closed tear just inside the image, two tiny paper repairs in the margin at upper corners. Framed.

A full-length portrait depicting one of the First Nation dignitaries, known as “The Four Kings,” who travelled to London in 1710. Queen Anne commissioned the Dutch artist John Verelst to paint all four of their portraits, which were soon reproduced in mezzotint by John Simon.

During Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713), British colonial forces tried to invade and conquer French Canada. After an unsuccessful campaign in 1709 that stopped short of Lake Champlain, Peter Schuyler, the mayor of Albany and a colonial official, concluded that the London Ministry must be persuaded to send enough aid for a well-equipped expedition. He hatched a bold diplomatic plan to achieve that aim, creating an embassy of four First Nation sachems who would be publicly presented to Queen Anne as “The Four Kings.” Upon arriving in London, the “Kings” caused a great sensation—pamphlets, articles, and even ballads were printed about them. Soon after, they visited Kensington Palace, met the Queen, asked her to send military assistance and missionaries to New England, and presented her with several wampum belts. Queen Anne was charmed. Her guests were treated like foreign dignitaries, given luxurious gifts, taken on a sightseeing tour of London, brought to theatrical entertainments, had an audience with William Pitt, and more. The trip was ostensibly a success, encouraging the English Crown to increase their war efforts in French Canada, as well as strengthening the alliance between the Mohawk and the English.

This portrait shows Tee Yee Ho Ga Row (also known as Hendrick), a Mohawk chief and sachem of the Wolf Clan. He is shown dressed in a mixture of European and Native American clothes, holding a wampum belt, with a wolf skulking behind him.

REFERENCES

Chaloner Smith, p.1095, no.84 (Indian Kings); Reese, Pictured to the Life 35; Muller, "From Palace to Longhouse Portraits of the Four Indian Kings in a Transatlantic Context," American Art, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Fall 2008), p. 26-49; Garrat, The Four Indian Kings E4a