John Mix Stanley was an American painter of
landscapes, portraits and Native American life.
He is best known today for painting American
Indian life in the West before it was changed by
early settlers. He was greatly influenced by both
American history painting and European art. He
was among the first artists to sketch western
scenery and be allowed to paint portraits of
various Indian tribes. Art was his passion, and as
a granddaughter fondly remembered, he had one
ambition or goal as a boy – to become a painter.
In the summer of 1848 he left San Francisco and
traveled to Hawaii. Stanley is believed to be
the earliest professional artist to visit Hawaii.
He spent a year there painting portraits of
aristocrats and members of the Hawaiian royal
family.
In 1854, Stanley married Alice C. English and
they had five children. From 1854-1862 Stanley
again lived in Washington, DC. In 1863 Stanley
moved to Buffalo, New York, where he
remained for a year and completed a large
scene of the Civil War. In 1864 he exhibited
the work in Detroit where he moved to and
remained for the rest of his life.