Thayendanegea (also known as Joseph Brant) was a Mohawk, one of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Born in Ohio, having sided with the British during the Revolutionary War, he later relocated to Canada where the Mohawks were given land. A talented leader, he was both an efficient war chief and a diplomat, striving throughout his life to do what was best for his people. He visited England in 1778 and again in 1785–1786. On the first visit he was painted by George Romney and on the second at least two portraits were produced by the American artist Gilbert Stuart, of one of which there are two versions. A painting identical to that in the Museum, but without the inscription, is owned by the New York State Historical Association. The provenance of the British Museum’s version is unknown, but a descendant of Brant, John Ojijatekha Brant Sero (1867–1914), reported seeing the portrait in the Museum during a visit in 1896.