Rediscovered Miniature Portrait of Joseph Brant in Important Canadian Auction

Waddington’s Presents an Important Portrait Miniature of Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) Leader Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea).

TORONTO, ON, CANADA, September 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- “She wore a gold locket containing an exquisite miniature likeness of her father painted in London. This, she said, was the most faithful likeness of Capt. Brant extant.” - William C. Bryant speaking of his visit with Catherine Johns (1790–1867), Matron of the Mohawk Turtle Clan and last daughter of Joseph Brant.

Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) war chief, interpreter, and statesman, and a hugely influential and trusted leader of the Haudenosaunee in the 18th century. Perhaps the best known North American First Nations figure of his era, he met and lobbied on behalf of the Haudenosaunee with many of the most significant American and British people of the period, notably King George III of Great Britain, American President George Washington, and British Major General Isaac Brock. Originally based in New York, Brant would later move to Brantford, in present-day Ontario.

Brant's military exploits, which began at the young age of 15 were numerous and consequential. Among other actions, he took part in James Abercromby’s campaign to invade Canada by way of Lake George (Lac Saint-Sacrement) in 1758, accompanied Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Northern Indians, in the 1759 expedition against Fort Niagara (near Youngstown, N.Y.), was with forces led by Jeffery Amherst that descended the St Lawrence to besiege Montreal, and in 1776 fought in the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, as well as countless skirmishes attached to ranger detachments led by Captain William Caldwell, and Captain Walter Butler.

As a statesman and interpreter, Brant visited with military and government officials in England in 1775-76 and again in 1785-86, most notably lobbying with King George III on behalf of the Haudenosaunee. Brant also met with George Washington in Philadelphia in 1792 to negotiate Kanyen'kehà:ka land claims in upstate New York. His war record, social and political savvy, and strong command of English, both the spoken and the written word, and fluency in multiple Six Nations dialects, made him ideally suited to matters of diplomacy. Until the time of Brant's death in 1807 he was active in territorial negotiations with the governments of Canada and the United States, a legacy for which Brant is remembered today.

REDISCOVERED MINIATURE PORTRAIT

A set of three miniature paintings in goldplated lockets was presented to the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) during his second visit to England in 1786 by Francis Lord Rawdon. Two of the miniatures show Brant and the third Lord Rawdon.

Dedicatory inscriptions on the back of the lockets identify Brant’s wife Catherine and his daughter Christiana as the recipients of his likenesses and Brant as that of Lord Rawdon’s picture. All remained in possession of the Brant family at least until 1872, but one of them at an unknown point of time became the property of Murray Turner UE, inherited by his descendants in England, and has now returned to Canada.

The miniature portrait of Brant is presented in Waddington's auction of Historical First Nations and Inuit Art Auction.

HISTORICAL FIRST NATIONS & INUIT ART AUCTION | Online August 21 - September 3

Featuring historical objects made both for sale and for everyday use, the works in this auction spotlight continuities and innovations in diverse First Nations traditions. Highlights include the rediscovered 1786 Portrait Miniature of Chief Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), a pair of significant 19th-century figural canoe cups collected in Quebec by King’s Counsel Ivan Tolkien Wotherspoon, and Northwest Coast and Plains art from the collection of fur trader and Strathcona Alderman John Gaddis Tipton.

This important auction is offered online by Waddington's. View the auction and register to bid at www.waddingtons.ca.

For more information contact firstnationsart@waddingtons.ca

ABOUT WADDINGTON'S

Waddington's is Canada's original auction house, founded in 1850. Almost 100 diverse auctions throughout the year provide a multitude of opportunities to sell desirable items to an international network of informed collectors. Email consignments@waddingtons.ca for information about selling with Waddington's.

Tess McLean
Waddington's Auctioneers
+1 647-296-8377
tm@waddingtons.ca
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