George CatlinAmerican, 1796–1872Mrs. George Catlin (Clara Bartlett Gregory)
Can I see it?
Unknown
Where is “Mrs. George Catlin (Clara Bartlett Gregory)” now? Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. 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
Clara Bartlett Gregory (1807-1845) met and married George Catlin in her hometown of Albany, New York, while he was there to paint Governor De Witt Clinton. It is likely that this miniature was painted during their courtship or just after their marriage in 1828. Despite her frail health, she accompanied her husband on one of his five journeys west and supported his efforts to capture the likenesses of Native Americans. She and their youngest son died while visiting Paris in 1845, a loss that devastated the artist.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1948.4.1
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
In the life of George Catlin
The whole life1828
Married: Clara Bartlett Gregory Catlin
1830
First journey west with Governor Clark
He accompanies William Clark, governor of the Missouri Territory, on a diplomatic mission to Fort Crawford and then up the Mississippi into Native territory.
1830–1836
Five journeys into the American West
St. Louis was his base for the five trips and the steamer Yellowstone of the American Fur Company his first transport; he visited 48 tribes in all (other accounts say about fifty). On trips along the Arkansas, Red and Mississippi rivers, in Florida and around the Great Lakes he painted more than 500 pictures and gathered a substantial collection of artifacts.
