Ben Hampton's work is a historical montage with Five Killer
wearing hawk feathers in his hair and a steitite pendant and earrings,
as its central figure. Surrounding him are scenes in winter, spring and
fall, an effect achieved by Mr. Hampton's use of color and his technique
of blending montage sections. Featured in these scenes are Indian fish
traps, known as weirs; bald eagles in flight; and a Cherokee cabin with a
bearskin and ball sticks hanging on the wall. Five Killer stands in the
doorway, his long rifle in hand, watching three wolves at play.
The prints are reproduced with 1,500 signed and numbered, 4,000 prints signed only, and 250 artist proofs.
All plates of the print were destroyed after printing on May 11, 1981.
This print is 1 of the 4,000 signed only and comes with the original folder which is also the COA. Will be packaged flat. Please review all photos to ensure quality. Some foxing on the folder itself but the print is in excellent condition.
Print measure 23.5 x 22 inches in the Portrait orientation.
Folder Measures 27 x 22
About:
HISKYTEEHEE (Five Killer)
Chief Five Killer, son of Nancy Ward and her Cherokee husband Kingfisher, was born in 1755 when the Cherokee Nation ruled the wilderness of Tennessee.
He was raised to be a great hunter and fisherman, and he watch- ed with sorrow as the Cherokee hunting grounds disappeared. Called Little Fellow as a boy, the young Brave earned his new name, Five Killer or Hiskyteehee, in 1777 in a battle at Rye's Cove in which five white men were killed. Thirty-five years later, as, Private Five Killer, this brave Cherokee warrior fought side by side with the white man in the War of 1812. In the fierce Battle of Horseshoe Bend, it was the Cherokee's attack on the rear guard of the Creek Red Sticks that turn- ed the tide for General Andrew Jackson and insured victory for the Americans.
Ready to wage war when war was necessary, Five Killer also learn- ed from his mother the value of a lasting peace with the white man.In later years, he carried her messages of peace, and her walking stick, to the tribal council meetings.
Five Killer died in 1835, three years before his people were forced onto the Trail of Tears, leaving behind their Tennessee lands forever. He is buried beside his mother atop a hill south of Benton in Polk County.