VIDEO: Brooks Joyner discusses the Perfect Recreations.

We regard Karl Bodmer’s 1832 – 1834 original watercolors of the American Indian to be the most important, beautiful and compelling images of the Plains Indians. We are proud to offer the exclusive, first-ever archival reproductions of his original watercolors.

At the beginning of his American journey, Karl Bodmer was a 23-year old Swiss artist who could not have imagined the new world he found himself exploring. With a heightened sense of awareness, an extraordinary eye for detail and a great gift for rendering on paper everything he saw – Bodmer gave us powerful portraits of the indigenous American nobility.

Wähktageli (“Gallant Warrior”) was the Yankton Sioux Chief referred to by the Americans as “Big Soldier” because he was well over six feet tall. He was nearly sixty years old when he posed for Bodmer in 1833. He painted his face with vermillion for this striking portrait; he took occasional breaks to smoke from the pipe-tomahawk in his left hand.

"Real Bodmers aren't for sale, but stunning re-creations are." The Omaha World-Herald praised our "high-resolution, painstakingly detailed reproductions of eight of Bodmer's most famous watercolors". Read the complete article

Framing your Bodmers