Itasca Lake, Source of the Mississippi, 1575 Feet above the Gulf of Mexico

Seth Eastman; Designer: after Henry Rowe Schoolcraft · 1849–55

Minnesota schoolchildren know Henry Rowe Schoolcraft as the explorer who in 1832 confirmed the source of the Mississippi River, and named it Lake Itasca. They also know that Itasca derives from the Latin for “truth” and “head”: veritas and caput. They also can thank Schoolcraft for finding our first state park, which the spot became in 1891. This watercolor, based on a Schoolcraft sketch, depicts the moment after his expedition arrived. One of 35 works on paper by Seth Eastman in Mia’s collection, the painting was the basis for an illustration in Schoolcraft’s massive Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851-57).