Conservation as Cultural Practice: The Portrait Collection of Indigenous Delegates by Henry Inman

This article explores the complex material history of the portrait collection of Indigenous delegates by Henry Inman (1801–1846), and the ethical dilemmas raised during the last conservation campaign. The so-called 'Indian Gallery,' painted by Charles Bird King and copied by Henry Inman in the late 1830s, offers a study case on how conservation can contribute to the visibility of this unique series of 27 Indigenous delegates portraits. Originally commissioned for Thomas L. McKenney as first Superintendent of Indian Affairs, the meaning of Henry Inman's copies shifted when they entered the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology in 1882. Turned into 'docile objects' their new display had them fit a different ethnographic discourse. Recently transferred to the Harvard Art Museums (2023), the last conservation campaign challenged this discourse and proposed new ways to look at the collection offering a new interpretation through material analysis.