Hermann Stieffel Sold at Auction Prices

Steiffel Watercolor of Fort Keoeg

Stieffel, Hermann (1826-1886). Fort Keoeg, Montana. Watercolor on paper. Signed: "H. Steiffel, 5th US inf." and dated "1878" 13 7/8" x 21 7/8" sheet. After Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn in 1876, the Army pushed forward plans to create a fort in Eastern Montana to establish order among the native populations and to guide them toward reservations. The fort, under the guidance of General Nelson A. Miles, was completed in 1878 and officially named Fort Keogh (after General Custer's adjutant Myles Keogh also killed at Little Big Horn) in November of that year. German-born soldier Hermann Steiffel's rendering of the fort appears to be done earlier in the year as the landscape still appear verdant and the name of the fort is mis-spelled. Although Steiffel's style is primitive, the amount of detail (down to the gophers peering out of their holes) is impressive. A very similar view of Fort Keogh by Steiffel can be found in the National Archives.