This rare portrayal of a Native American woman, Hayne Hudjihini, Eagle of Delight—wife of Sumonyeacathee, Chief of the Otoe-Missouria people—emphasizes her distinctive beauty and status. She is adorned with earrings, necklaces, and a silver bracelet. Her black hair is in two thin braids with a center part. Her long-sleeve patterned orangish red top is accented by white fur shawl. Born into a prominent Eagle clan family of the Jiwere-Nut'achi (Otoe-Missouria) people, Hayne Hudjihini, Eagle of Delight, has a blue tattoo on her forehead denoting her royal status. Her marriage to Bear clan Chief Sumonyeacathee formed an Eagle-Bear union—a high honor among the Jiwere-Nut'achi people. Following a peace treaty in which the Jiwere-Nut'achi agreed to an alliance with the United States government, in 1822 she and her husband traveled as ambassadors and protectors of Jiwere-Nut'achi sovereignty from their home in present-day Nebraska to Washington, D.C., to meet with President James Monroe. During this trip, Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent Thomas McKenney is said to have fallen in love with her and commissioned her portrait. Despite Eagle clan members being known for their strength, health, and long lives, she died of measles shortly after she returned home. Inman’s portraits of Native Americans were painted in preparation for hand-colored lithographs to be made for a publication by the Head of Indian Affairs, Thomas L. McKenney—"The History of the Indian Tribes of North America" (1836–44). These distinguished leaders had originally been painted from life by Charles Bird King, when invited to Washington in 1822. King’s portraits were destroyed in a fire at the Smithsonian Institution in 1865.

Hayne Hudjihini, Eagle of Delight by Henry Inman (American) - Oil on canvas / 1832–1833 - Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) #womeninart #henryinman #portrait #fineart #themetfifthavenue #art #nativeamerican #womensart #oilpainting #portraitofawoman #themet #inman #americanart #artwork #bskyart