Long Jakes

Long Jakes, "The Rocky Mountain Man"

1844
Artist
Charles Deas, American, 1818-1867
Country
United States
painting
Oil paint on canvas
Jointly owned by the Denver Art Museum and the American Museum of Western Art---The Anschutz Collection. Purchased in memory of Bob Magness with funds from 1999 Collectors' Choice, Sharon Magness, Mr. & Mrs. William D. Hewit, Carl & Lisa Williams, Estelle Rae Wolf - Flowe Foundation and the T. Edward and Tullah Hanley Collection by exchange
1998.241
About the Artist

Born in Philadelphia, Charles Deas [DAYS] enjoyed an education based in the classics (which included art) and he aspired to a military life. He was denied admission to West Point Military Academy, after which he began studying art. Deas traveled west in 1840 to visit his brother at Fort Crawford in the Wisconsin Territory and moved around that region for the next year or so, painting scenes of the frontier, Indians, and military portraits. He settled in St. Louis, the gateway to the West, where he set up a studio and made it his home base for expeditions. Deas immersed himself so completely in the frontier lifestyle that he earned the nickname “Rocky Mountains.” He dressed like a trapper, according to a soldier he traveled with, in “a broad white hat—a loose dress, and sundry traps and truck hanging about his saddle.” That description doesn’t sound far off from what we see in this painting, and some think that Deas personally identified with the Long Jakes figure.

Deas’s art was exhibited in St. Louis as well as New York and Philadelphia. He enjoyed critical acclaim and lived to see the immense popularity of Long Jakes. He was a prolific artist, even though he only had a 12-year painting career. However, most of his paintings have either been lost or are not recognized as his, and only 30-40 are known today. Deas died in 1867 in a New York mental institution.

What Inspired It

Long Jakes documents America’s first frontier hero, the fur trapper. The fur trade in the American West flourished in the 1830s and was one of the most financially successful industries in America during the first half of the 1800s. The image of the trapper was that of a fiercely independent traveler who led a solitary life. Trappers worked throughout the Rocky Mountains to gather beaver fur, a major commodity (beaver hats were very popular). Trappers were often seen as rebels living outside the limits of society, but more often they were viewed with a sort of heroism, the ideal of the independent American spirit.

Using painting conventions usually reserved for kings and generals, Deas placed this motley American hero on his horse, top and center, elevated over a vast landscape. Critics discerned refinement and sensitivity behind his weather-beaten face. Long Jakes is turned in his saddle, looking with concern at something we can’t see. Clearly, the West was filled with danger and adventure at every turn.

When Long Jakes was exhibited, the heyday of the trapper was over, so it seems the picture summed up the spirit of an idealized time in its tribute to the courage and lifestyle of these men. This painting set the ongoing iconography for how to represent a trapper.

Details

Evidence of the Outdoor Life

Long Jakes’s beard, long hair, and sunburned face are all signs of life in the harsh outdoors. Also note his blue-veined, chapped hands.

Clothing

This mountain man’s garb was assembled based on availability and functionality. His long red hunting shirt is made of trade cloth. A broadbrimmed hat would guard his eyes from sun glare, hail, and sleet. He wears leggings with quillwork decoration and moccasins fitted with spurs.

Trapper Gear

The rifle, bedroll, powder horn, knife, and rope are all items that were associated with trappers. His saddle has been identified as a Mexican one.

Red Nose

At the time, a red nose was a well-recognized sign of someone who drank excessively, and it made the figure somewhat humorous to its 19th century audience.

Bulging Eye

Whatever is happening off to the left has alarmed the horse. Its bulging eye and startled gait suggest fear.

Brand

A brand is barely visible on the horse’s hind leg. It was previously thought to be the letters JS but is now thought to be the letters US. We know Deas rode a horse that formerly belonged to the government; perhaps the same is true of Long Jakes’s horse.

View of the Rockies

The mountains had a symbolic association with trappers, so they’re almost like another trapper accessory. This is a very early use of the Rockies as a backdrop, and it’s unclear whether it’s based on an eyewitness experience.

More Resources

Websites

SIRIS

The Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS). Use this database to search other Deas paintings housed in other museums.

Books

Ames, Logan. Visions of the American West: People. London: Chartwell Books, Inc., 2007.

An introduction to the individuals and artists that shaped the early West. See pages 126-128 for information about Deas.

Campbell, Suzan. Out of the West: The Gund Collection of Western Art. Western Edge Press, 2006.

This book discusses painter influences, subject, and background history.

Caruso, Laura, ed. Redrawing Boundaries: Perspectives on Western American Art. Denver: Denver Art Museum, 2007.

Six writers discuss an emerging history of Western art that places it in new social, psychological, and political contexts.

Clark, Carol. American Frontier Life, Early Western Painting and Prints: Charles Deas. New York: Cross River Press, 1987.

Clark dedicates a chapter to Deas (pages 51-77), exploring his life and works.

Glanz, Dawn. How the West was Drawn: American Art and the Settling of the Frontier. Ann Arbor, Mich: UMI Research Press, 1992.

Chapter two of this book, "Civilization's Advancement: Images of Fur Trappers and Traders," provides a history of the fur trapper in the West, and the influence on art and western expansion (see pages 27-30 and 44-48).

Hassrick, Peter H. The American West: Out of Myth, Into Reality. Washington, D.C: Trust for Museum Exhibitions, 2000.

An exploration of the prevalent themes in Western art.

Funding for object education resources provided by a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation. Additional funding provided by the William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Education Programs, and Xcel Energy Foundation. We thank our colleagues at the University of Denver Morgridge College of Education.

The images on this page are intended for classroom use only and may not be reproduced for other reasons without the permission of the Denver Art Museum. This object may not currently be on display at the museum.