Karl Bodmer was born in Switzerland in 1809 and worked in Barbizon, France.
Bodmer was chosen by Prince Maximilian of Prussia as the artist to accompany the prince’s expedition to the western United States. The group left St. Louis by steamboat in April 1833 for their base camp at Fort Pierre on the Missouri River. Bodmer’s task was to document the travels of the expedition - the topography, the natural history and the
natives. At Fort Pierre he drew the Sioux, at Fort Clark the Mandan and at Fort Mckenzie, the Blackfoot. His work was detailed and powerful and when he returned
his etchings, lithographs and woodblocks were eagerly received. They remain one of the
earliest and most important records of the western Indian tribes.
