Indian Dance at Amherstburg

William Bent Berczy, eldest son of William Berczy, learned painting from his father and worked for many years as an amateur. This picture is one of his most ambitious compositions. Executed while he was living in Amherstburg, it shows spectators watching a ceremonial Indigenous dance on the shores of Elliott's Point – a site that no longer exists. It is unlikely that the event depicted actually took place. The artist almost certainly imagined it based on observed customs and practices, as was common at the time.