George CatlinAmerican, 1796–1872Capt. Henry P. Fleischman
May one see it?
Unknown
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington, D.C., United States
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
The Naval Library has no record of Henry Fleischman (1792-1835) having earned the rank of captain. He was captured once by the British, who had released him upon his oath not to fight against them again. Fleischman went on to serve on the USS Chesapeake under the name William Brown, a midshipman who previously had been posted aboard the ship. Fleischman’s actions were discovered and he was charged with “un-officer-like conduct” and falsifying his identity. Because of his youth and good record his only punishment was a public reprimand by the secretary of the Navy. George Catlin and his wife had planned to visit the Fleischmans at their home in St. Louis in October 1835, but arrived six months after the “Captain” died at sea. Although this miniature is dated 1825, it is possible that Catlin painted it on that trip, as a memorial for his friend’s grieving family.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1999.27.5
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
Meanwhile, in the life of George Catlin
The whole life1823
Studies art in Philadelphia
Turning to portrait painting, he begins studying art in Philadelphia and becomes known as a portraitist.
1824
Meets a delegation of Native chiefs
In Philadelphia he meets a delegation of fifteen chiefs from the western frontier; after this meeting he resolves to paint only portraits of Native Americans and to preserve a record of their customs and people.
1825
Erie Canal lithographs in Colden’s Memoir
His first known works were sketches from nature along the Erie Canal; lithographs of several appeared in Cadwallader D. Colden’s 1825 Memoir, one of the first printed books to use lithography, with early images of Buffalo.