Game of the Arrow - Mandan
1861/1869
Artist, American, 1796 - 1872
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. 174.
GAME OF THE ARROW (Mandan).—A very exciting game of the young men of the Mandan tribe, in which the strife is to decide who can get the greatest number of arrows, from the same bow, flying in the air at the same time. Each player pays an entrance fee, and in some instances they have been known to get ten arrows up before the first thrown gets to the ground. The stakes go to him who counts the greatest number in the air at the same time."
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on card mounted on paperboard
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall: 47.8 x 63.8 cm (18 13/16 x 25 1/8 in.)
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Accession
1965.16.83
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
1964
Loan for display with permanent collection, Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, 1964-1974.
1983
Extended loan for use by Ambassador Galbraith, U.S. Embassy residence, Paris, France, 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.
2009
Extended loan for use by President Barack Obama, The White House, Washington, D.C., 2009-2017.
Bibliography
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 28.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 70, repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 69, repro.
Wikidata ID
Q20188515