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John Eliot Preaching to the Indians

Not on view
Darley was one of the most prolific American illustrators of his day. He created illustrations for the works of such authors as Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in addition to depictions of historical events and frontier life, including images of American Indians. In this drawing, Darley’s subject is the Puritan preacher John Eliot (ca. 1604–1690), a missionary who attempted to convert Massachusetts Indians to Christianity and translated the Bible into the local Indian languages. Here the brightly illuminated Eliot makes a gesture of blessing to his audience like John the Baptist in traditional Christian iconography.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: John Eliot Preaching to the Indians
  • Artist: Felix Octavius Carr Darley (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1822–1888 Claymont, Delaware)
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Ink washes, graphite, gum arabic, and sgraffito on smooth-surfaced off-white wove paper
  • Dimensions: 15 3/16 x 19 1/4 in. (38.6 x 48.9 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Martha J. Fleischman and Barbara G. Fleischman, 1999
  • Object Number: 1999.368.2
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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The Wept of the Wish-Ton-Wish, Felix Octavius Carr Darley American, Steel engraving and black ink on off-white wove card (Bristol-type paper)
The Wept of the Wish-Ton-Wish
Felix Octavius Carr Darley
The Wept of the Wish-Ton-Wish
Felix Octavius Carr Darley
ca. 1859
F. O. C. Darley
Felix Octavius Carr Darley
A Rowdy Party, Felix Octavius Carr Darley American, Pen and brown and black ink, brush and wash, over graphite
A Rowdy Party
Felix Octavius Carr Darley
1845
Washington Irving's Illustrations of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Designed and Etched by F.O.C. Darley for the Members of the American Art Union, 1850, Felix Octavius Carr Darley American, Lithographs (called etching on stone)
Washington Irving's Illustrations of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Designed and Etched by F.O.C. Darley for the Members of the American Art Union, 1850
Multiple artists/makers
1849–50

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