Pawnee Indians

1861/1869

George Catlin

Associated Names
George Catlin

Artist, American, 1796 - 1872

The image depicts six people, all facing the viewer. On the left, a woman sits on the ground. A naked child is partially visible behind her on the left, and in front of her she holds a younger child in a decorated carrier with a square handle. On the right are three men, one sitting and the other two standing. The seated man is in the center of the painting, and he holds a bow and two arrows. The next man on the right holds an axe or similar weapon, and the third man on the right also holds a bow and two arrows. All of the people have light brown skin, and the woman and children have black hair. The men have no visible hair, but instead appear to wear headdresses of long, thin red fibers or feathers that radiate outward from the backs of their heads. The seated man also has long horizontal feathers or fibers extending on either side of his head. The men and woman are all adorned with jewelry, including layers of colorful necklaces, silver bracelets, and several earrings in each ear. The woman wears a long-sleeved tan dress, while the men have fur-lined tan garments draped around their torsos and tan pants with colorful beads and fringe. Their garments are painted with scenes of people on horseback or colorful geometric patterns. The men also have tattoos on their arms and torsos. The seated man has red handprints on his upper arms, and the dark outlines of a bull's head on his chest and face. He has a hooped ring in his nose. The background shows a blue sky and grassy ground. The painting is framed in a gray oval border with tan paper beyond it and a green outer frame.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

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. 23. Pawnée.　

a. -- La-dóo-ke-a (The Buffalo Bull).

b. -- Lóo-ra-wée-re-coo (The Bird that Goes to War).

c. -- Ah-sha-la-cóots-a (The Mole in the Forehead). Three celebrated warriors of the Platte, in war costumes and equipments.　

d. -- La-loóch (-----); a Pawnee woman, wife of the 'Buffalo Bull.' 1833."

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on card mounted on paperboard

  • Credit Line

    Paul Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 47.7 x 63.5 cm (18 3/4 x 25 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1965.16.60

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

1968

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Phoenix Art Museum, 1968-1969.

1969

  • Catlin Paintings Exhibit, Albrecht Gallery [now The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art], St. Joseph, Missouri, 1969-1970.

1972

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, W. H. Over Dakota Museum, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, 1972-1976.

1982

  • Extended loan for use by The White House, Washington, D.C., 1982.

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.

Bibliography

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 29.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 95, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 83, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20188560

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