The Captive Charger
- Artist
- Charles Ferdinand Wimar, American (born Germany), 1828–1862
- Date
- 1854
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 321
- Dimensions
- 30 x 40 1/2 in. (76.2 x 102.9 cm)
framed: 44 1/2 x 55 1/4 in. (113 x 140.3 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Miss Lillie B. Randell
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 181:1925
NOTES
This dramatic painting depicts Native Americans returning home at dusk with a captured US Calvary horse. Charles Ferdinand Wimar's interest in Native cultures developed after moving as a teenager from Germany to St. Louis, Missouri. He collected Native American objects, from arrows to beaded jackets, that he proudly installed in his studio. Wimar depended on this personal collection as source material for the meticulously rendered details in his paintings, such as the feather headdresses, lance, rifle, and saber depicted here. Such precision persuaded viewers that the finished composition was also equally accurate.
The Captive Charger, however, which imagines the aftermath of a battle, is an entirely romanticized vision. Wimar, like most 19th-century white painters, prioritized drama and danger over cultural integrity. In fact, the objects so carefully delineated here belong to disparate Native American cultures and would never have appeared together. Wimar’s composition characterizes Native Americans’ defense of their homeland as acts of savagery rather than resistance. Such depictions continued negative stereotypes that enabled decades of violence against Native American communities.
The Captive Charger, however, which imagines the aftermath of a battle, is an entirely romanticized vision. Wimar, like most 19th-century white painters, prioritized drama and danger over cultural integrity. In fact, the objects so carefully delineated here belong to disparate Native American cultures and would never have appeared together. Wimar’s composition characterizes Native Americans’ defense of their homeland as acts of savagery rather than resistance. Such depictions continued negative stereotypes that enabled decades of violence against Native American communities.
Provenance
1854 - 1855
Charles Ferdinand Wimar, Düsseldorf, Germany [1]
by 1858 - still in 1859
John A. Brownlee (b.1819), St. Louis, MO, USA [2]
- still in 1871
Franklin Ridgely, St. Louis, MO [3]
by 1872 - 1885
Samuel M. Dodd, St. Louis, MO, acquired from Franklin Ridgely [4]
December 8,1885 -
John M. Randell (1822-1888), New York, NY, purchased at auction from Pettes & Leathe Art Galleries, St. Louis, MO [5]
by 1908 -
Letitia Randell Garrison (1855-1925), London, England, acquired from her father John M. Randell [6]
- 1925
Lillie B. Randell, London, England, acquired from Letitia Randell Garrison [7]
1925 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Lillie B. Randell [8]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the 1946 retrospective exhibition catalogue on Wimar [Rathbone, Perry T. "Charles Wimar 1828-1862: Painter of the Indian Frontier." Bulletin of the City Art Museum of Saint Louis, October 13 - November 18, 1946, cat. 11]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Originally from Germany, Wimar and his family moved to St. Louis in 1843. Wimar returned to Germany to study art between 1852 and 1856. He painted this picture in Düsseldorf in 1854 and sent it back to St. Louis for his family to sell. In a July 1855 letter to his parents, Wimar writes "As I see from a note in the Anzeiger ("Anzeiger des Westens" was a St. Louis journal) the last picture ("Indians returning from a foray," now titled "The Captive Charger") sold for 300 which pleases me very much..." [Rathbone, p. 14]. It is unclear whether John A. Brownlee was the purchaser at this time.
[2] See note [1]. John A. Brownlee was the president of Merchant's Bank in St. Louis, and had purchased several of Wimar's paintings by 1858, including this one, presumably directly from the artist or his family [Saunders, Richard H. "Collecting the West: The C.R. Smith Collection of Western American Art." Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1988, p. 14]. Brownlee is listed as the owner of the painting for a September 1859 exhibition in St. Louis [Hopewell, M. "Report of the Fourth Annual Fair of the St. Louis Agricultural & Mechanical Association, of September 1859." St. Louis: George Knapp & Co., 1860, cat. 130].
[3] In an 1871 St. Louis exhibition catalogue, Franklin Ridgely is listed as the lender of the painting ["Catalogue of the Works of Art in the St. Louis Mercantile Library: Exhibition of Paintings (First Annual)." St. Louis: Missouri Democratic Book and Jobs, 1871, cat. 107].
[4] Samuel M. Dodd apparently acquired the painting from Franklin Ridgely sometime between 1871 and 1872, as Dodd is listed as the lender of the painting in St. Louis exhibitions from 1872 and 1881 ["Catalogue of the Works of Art in the St. Louis Mercantile Library: Exhibition of Paintings (First Annual)." St. Louis, MO: St. Louis Mercantile Library Association, 1872; "Loan Exhibition." St. Louis, MO: St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts, 1881, cat. 140]. A 1908 publication includes the provenance for this painting, indicating that it passed from Frank Ridgely to Samuel Dodd, who had it on exhibition "a great many years" at the Mercantile Library in St. Louis. Mr. Dodd sold the work at Pettes & Leathe in December 1885. [Hodges, William Romaine, and Charles Reymershoffer. "Carl Wimar: A Biography." Galveston, TX: Charles Reymershoffer, 1908, p. 83].
[5] Buyer identified in newspaper article as John M. Randall, New York [“High Prices for Pictures.” “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” December 9, 1885, p. 7]
[6] Mrs. Letitia Randell Garrison is listed as the owner of the painting in a 1908 publication on Wimar [Hodges & Reymershoffer, p. 15, 83]. Mrs. Garrison, the daughter of James M. Randell, was originally a St. Louisan who moved to London with her husband, Commodore Cornelius K. Garrison of New York. After her husband's death, Mrs. Garrison continued to reside in London with her sister, Lillie B. Randell ["Canvas Completed About 1854 and Adjudged to Be Wimar's Best Work Is Gift of Miss Lillie Randell of London." "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch" November 6, 1925].
[7] See note [6].
[8] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, October 30, 1925.
Charles Ferdinand Wimar, Düsseldorf, Germany [1]
by 1858 - still in 1859
John A. Brownlee (b.1819), St. Louis, MO, USA [2]
- still in 1871
Franklin Ridgely, St. Louis, MO [3]
by 1872 - 1885
Samuel M. Dodd, St. Louis, MO, acquired from Franklin Ridgely [4]
December 8,1885 -
John M. Randell (1822-1888), New York, NY, purchased at auction from Pettes & Leathe Art Galleries, St. Louis, MO [5]
by 1908 -
Letitia Randell Garrison (1855-1925), London, England, acquired from her father John M. Randell [6]
- 1925
Lillie B. Randell, London, England, acquired from Letitia Randell Garrison [7]
1925 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Lillie B. Randell [8]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the 1946 retrospective exhibition catalogue on Wimar [Rathbone, Perry T. "Charles Wimar 1828-1862: Painter of the Indian Frontier." Bulletin of the City Art Museum of Saint Louis, October 13 - November 18, 1946, cat. 11]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Originally from Germany, Wimar and his family moved to St. Louis in 1843. Wimar returned to Germany to study art between 1852 and 1856. He painted this picture in Düsseldorf in 1854 and sent it back to St. Louis for his family to sell. In a July 1855 letter to his parents, Wimar writes "As I see from a note in the Anzeiger ("Anzeiger des Westens" was a St. Louis journal) the last picture ("Indians returning from a foray," now titled "The Captive Charger") sold for 300 which pleases me very much..." [Rathbone, p. 14]. It is unclear whether John A. Brownlee was the purchaser at this time.
[2] See note [1]. John A. Brownlee was the president of Merchant's Bank in St. Louis, and had purchased several of Wimar's paintings by 1858, including this one, presumably directly from the artist or his family [Saunders, Richard H. "Collecting the West: The C.R. Smith Collection of Western American Art." Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1988, p. 14]. Brownlee is listed as the owner of the painting for a September 1859 exhibition in St. Louis [Hopewell, M. "Report of the Fourth Annual Fair of the St. Louis Agricultural & Mechanical Association, of September 1859." St. Louis: George Knapp & Co., 1860, cat. 130].
[3] In an 1871 St. Louis exhibition catalogue, Franklin Ridgely is listed as the lender of the painting ["Catalogue of the Works of Art in the St. Louis Mercantile Library: Exhibition of Paintings (First Annual)." St. Louis: Missouri Democratic Book and Jobs, 1871, cat. 107].
[4] Samuel M. Dodd apparently acquired the painting from Franklin Ridgely sometime between 1871 and 1872, as Dodd is listed as the lender of the painting in St. Louis exhibitions from 1872 and 1881 ["Catalogue of the Works of Art in the St. Louis Mercantile Library: Exhibition of Paintings (First Annual)." St. Louis, MO: St. Louis Mercantile Library Association, 1872; "Loan Exhibition." St. Louis, MO: St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts, 1881, cat. 140]. A 1908 publication includes the provenance for this painting, indicating that it passed from Frank Ridgely to Samuel Dodd, who had it on exhibition "a great many years" at the Mercantile Library in St. Louis. Mr. Dodd sold the work at Pettes & Leathe in December 1885. [Hodges, William Romaine, and Charles Reymershoffer. "Carl Wimar: A Biography." Galveston, TX: Charles Reymershoffer, 1908, p. 83].
[5] Buyer identified in newspaper article as John M. Randall, New York [“High Prices for Pictures.” “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” December 9, 1885, p. 7]
[6] Mrs. Letitia Randell Garrison is listed as the owner of the painting in a 1908 publication on Wimar [Hodges & Reymershoffer, p. 15, 83]. Mrs. Garrison, the daughter of James M. Randell, was originally a St. Louisan who moved to London with her husband, Commodore Cornelius K. Garrison of New York. After her husband's death, Mrs. Garrison continued to reside in London with her sister, Lillie B. Randell ["Canvas Completed About 1854 and Adjudged to Be Wimar's Best Work Is Gift of Miss Lillie Randell of London." "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch" November 6, 1925].
[7] See note [6].
[8] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, October 30, 1925.