The Cheyenne Brothers Starting on Their Fall Hunt

1861/1869

George Catlin

Artist, American, 1796 - 1872

Media Options

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During the mid-19th century, George Catlin created two large collections of paintings featuring portraits of Native Americans, genre scenes, and western landscapes. The first collection, which he called his "Indian Gallery," included more than 500 works completed during the 1830s. Most of the surviving paintings from this group are now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. During the 1850s and 1860s, Catlin created a second collection, numbering more than 600 works, which he called his "Cartoon Collection." The surviving works from this collection were acquired by the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 1912. Paul Mellon purchased more than 300 paintings from the Cartoon Collection when they were deaccessioned. In 1965, he gave 351 works from this collection to the National Gallery of Art.

When Catlin exhibited the Cartoon Collection in New York in 1871, he published a catalog listing all the works. The catalog entries often included additional information about the subject of each painting. Catlin's catalog entry for this painting follows.

"Cart. No. 410.

THE 'CHEYENNE BROTHERS' starting on their 'fall hunt.'"

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on card mounted on paperboard

  • Credit Line

    Paul Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 46 x 62.1 cm (18 1/8 x 24 7/16 in.)

  • Accession

    1965.16.42

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

George Catlin [1796-1872]; by descent to his daughters, Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin; purchased 1912 from Elizabeth Wing Catlin by the American Museum of Natural History; sold 1959 through (Kennedy Galleries, New York) to Mr. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA; gift 1965 to the NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1870

  • Indiens des deux Ameriques, Salle du Jardin Botanique, Brussels, 1870, no. 545.

1871

  • Catlin's Indian Cartoons, Somerville Gallery, New York, 1871, no. 410.

1872

  • Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1872.

1876

  • Possibly Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876.

1956

  • George Catlin, American Indians: Paintings from The Collection of the American Museum of Natural History, Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York, 1956.

1964

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, 1964-1974.

1980

  • Extended loan for use by the Ambassador, U.S. Embassy residence, Berlin, West Germany, 1980-1983.

1983

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassadors Louis Arthur Tambs and Charles A. Gillespie, U.S. Embassy residence, Bogotà, Colombia, 1983-1986.

1989

  • A Gallery Revived: North American Indian Paintings by George Catlin, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, 1989.

1990

  • North American Indian Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, 1990-1991.

1992

  • North American Indian Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1992-1993.

1993

  • North American Indian Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Boise Art Museum, Idaho, 1993.

1994

  • North American Indian Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Hofstra Museum, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, 1994.

  • North American Indian Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, Wisconsin, 1994.

1995

  • North American Indian Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Payne Gallery, Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1995, unnumbered brochure.

  • North American Indian Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Lore Degenstein Gallery, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, 1995.

2014

  • Take Two: George Catlin Revisits the West, Sid Richardson Museum, Fort Worth, 2014-2015, no. 36, humbnail detail.

Bibliography

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 26.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 48, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 56, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left on card: A/135; upper center on board on applied paper: 410

Wikidata ID

Q20188476

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