The Female Eagle - Shawano

1830

George Catlin

Artist, American, 1796 - 1872

Shown from the waist up, a Shawano woman with medium-brown skin sits angled to the right and looking off in that direction in this vertical portrait painting. She has broad, flushed cheeks, light brown eyes, a cleft chin, and her lips are closed. Her black hair is parted down the middle and tied at the base of her head. A ponytail falls over one shoulder, and her part is painted red. She wears an earring made up of a cluster of long, conical silver tubes in the ear we can see. At least nine strands of delicate, blue-toned beads encircle her neck, some falling to the hollow of her throat and some reaching down her chest. Her shoulders are bare as a lace-edged chemise, carnation-pink fabric striped with blue, green, and white, and a thick white fur or fleece wrap are gathered around her arms, which appear to be crossed in front of her belly. The background is mottled with muted mauve pink and smoky turquoise blue.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Paul Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 72.2 x 59 cm (28 7/16 x 23 1/4 in.)
    framed: 81.3 x 67.9 cm (32 x 26 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1965.16.348


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

1966

  • Extended loan for use by the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C., 1966-Nov. 1981, Mar. 1982-1990.

1980

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

1981

  • George Catlin, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, 1981-1982.

1994

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

Bibliography

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 33.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 76, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 65, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20185683


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