Chief Ouray, principal chief of the Uncompahgre Ute and one of the most prominent Native American diplomats of the nineteenth century, is portrayed here in a three-quarter bust view on an albumen cabinet card bearing the imprint of W. H. Jackson Photograph and Publishing Co. of Denver, Colorado. Jackson, celebrated as one of the foremost photographers of the American West and formerly the official photographer for the U.S. Geological Survey, produced a well-known series of portraits of Ouray during the 1870s, placing this image firmly within that documented body of work. The catalog number 4204 is printed in the lower right of the recto.

Ouray wears a cloth vest over a long-sleeved shirt, with a large peace medal suspended on a braided cord across his chest, a multi-strand bone or shell choker at his throat, and wrapped hair ornaments visible at his shoulder. His gaze is directed slightly upward and to his left, conveying a composed, deliberate bearing.

Ouray (c. 1833–1880) served as the leading Ute negotiator with the United States government through a succession of critical treaty councils, including the 1868 and 1873 agreements that reshaped Ute territorial holdings in Colorado. His skill as a diplomat earned wide recognition in Washington, and he traveled to the capital on multiple occasions as the acknowledged spokesman for his people.

The lower margin of the recto reads, in printed text: "A RUNNER FOR CHIEF OURAY. 4204." The reverse bears the printed imprint: "W. H. JACKSON / PHOTOGRAPH AND PUBLISHING CO. / LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHERS. / DENVER, COLORADO."

From the collection of James Lee Soffer