Portage Around the Falls of Niagara at Table Rock

1847/1848

George Catlin

Artist, American, 1796 - 1872

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. 424.

PORTAGE OF CANOES, &c., around the Fall of Niagara at Table Rock."

Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Paul Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 37.8 x 56.2 cm (14 7/8 x 22 1/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1965.16.318

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

1965

  • 26 paintings by George Catlin from the Paul Mellon Collection, Old Courthouse, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior), St. Louis, Missouri, 1965-1968, no. 3, repro.

1968

  • Westward the Artist [Third Anniversary Exhibition], Lakeview Center for the Arts and Sciences, Peoria, Illinois, 1968, no. 25.

  • Voyages of Discovery by La Salle, St. Paul Art Center, Minnesota, 1968.

1970

  • [The La Salle Series], Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, 1970.

1971

  • An Exhibition of Paintings and Lithographs by George Catlin, Artist Historian, Tennessee Fine Arts Center, Nashville, 1971, no. 38.

1972

  • Voyages of Discovery by La Salle, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association, Alexandria, 1972.

1973

  • Voyages of Discovery by La Salle, Phoenix Art Museum, 1973-1974.

  • [Catlin exhibition], Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 1973.

1977

  • Voyages of Discovery by La Salle, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, 1977.

1978

  • Inaugural Exhibition, The Community Art Gallery, Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville, Florida, 1978.

1980

  • American Indian Life: Paintings by George Catlin, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980.

  • George Catlin: The Indian Gallery & The Voyages of La Salle, The Mansfield Art Center, Ohio, 1980, no. 54.

1981

  • Two Hundred Years of American Paintings, 1700-1900, Inaugural Exhibition, The Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia, 1981, no. 15 (and listed separately pp. 69-72).

1988

  • George Catlin: An American View, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, 1988.

1992

  • Voyages of Discovery: History Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Live Oak Gardens Foundation, Inc. [now Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island], New Iberia, Louisiana, 1992.

1993

  • Voyages of Discovery: History Paintings by George Catlin (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), The Lowe Art Museum, Coral Gables, Florida, 1993.

2013

  • On the Trails of the Iroquois, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, 2013-2014, no. 164.

Bibliography

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 37, repro. 39.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 97, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 130, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: G. Catlin. p.

Wikidata ID

Q20187905

You may be interested in

Loading Results