George CatlinAmerican, 1796–1872Great Hero, a chief
May one see it?
Unknown
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
“I have visited forty-eight different tribes, the greater part of which I found speaking different languages, and containing in all 400,000 souls. I have brought home safe, and in good order, 310 portraits in oil, all painted in their native dress, and in their own wigwams . . . as well as a very extensive and curious collection of their costumes, and all their other manufactures, from the size of a wigwam down to the size of a quill or a rattle.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 1, 1841; reprint 1973)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1985.66.386,321
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 life1844
Catlin’s North American Indian Portfolio
He publishes a portfolio of 25 plates with hunting scenes of the West.
1845
Death of his wife Clara and a son in Paris
In Paris his wife Clara, whom he had married in 1828 and who had accompanied him on one of his journeys west, dies of consumption, as does their youngest son. The remaining children are taken in by his wife’s relatives.
1845
Moves to Paris
He moves with his family from England to Paris.
