Historic portrait of the real Pocahontas in London, age 21, dressed as the Christian lady she had become. She died within months. This portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian, in Washington, D.C.. This painting is a later copy of an engraving made during her London visit of 1616. It flatters and Europeanizes her more than does the original engraving, which failed to capture her celebrated allure.

The original engraving by Simon van de Passe, from which the oil painting was later made. This is the only surviving portrait made during her lifetime, published in 1616. Therefore, it is the most accurate. To create his engravings, Simon van de Passe would typically copy a watercolor painting made from life, by another artist. The engraving was then inked and printed hundreds of times. The prints were often sold in books with other prints. Usually, his engravings looked uglier than the original paintings, but whatever life painting he worked from has been lost.

This is not repeat not a photo of the real Pocahontas. Photography was invented more than 200 years after she died! I just could not resist throwing in this frame of fourteen-year-old actress Q'Orianka Kilcher, from The New World movie, in her radiant interpretation of Lady Rebecca Rolfe at the Court of King James. Clearly inspired by the above painting, down to the colors of her outfit.