Seth EastmanAmerican, 1808–1875Indians Travelling
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Indians Travelling” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
In this sentimentalized scene, Seth Eastman bows to an early 19th-century image of Native people as a “vanishing race.” Though he knew Native life well (he even learned the Dakota language), he could not escape his era’s romanticized views. He presented these villagers as quietly stoical, moving across barren land until they all but disappear. For added pathos, Eastman placed focus on the baby swaddled in pink and strapped to the travois, and had the child on horseback give the viewer a farewell glance.
This watercolor, one of 35 works on paper by Eastman in Mia’s collection, was the basis for an illustration in Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s massive Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851-57).
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 2014.31.3
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — public domain
