A Buffalo Wallow

George Catlin executed A Buffalo Wallow in 1861 as an oil painting on card mounted to paperboard. Following the artist's death in 1872, the work passed by descent to his three daughters: Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. In 1912, the American Museum of Natural History purchased the piece directly from Elizabeth Wing Catlin.

The museum retained ownership until 1959, when it sold the painting through Kennedy Galleries of New York to collector Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. Mellon subsequently donated the work to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1965, where it remains in the collection.

A Buffalo Wallow is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it is accessioned under object number 1965.1.23.

The painting entered the Gallery’s collection as a gift in 1965 from Mr. Paul Mellon, who had acquired it in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries, New York, from Elizabeth Wing Catlin. Its prior history traces from the artist, George Catlin, to his daughters and then to the American Museum of Natural History before its sale in 1912.

A Buffalo Wallow (1861) entered the National Gallery of Art in 1965 after a documented chain of ownership that began with George Catlin and passed through his daughters before being sold to Paul Mellon and gifted to the museum. Its inclusion in the museum’s permanent collection underscores scholarly and curatorial recognition of the work as a representative example of Catlin’s frontier subjects. The painting measures 46.7 × 62.5 cm and depicts a herd of buffalo, a motif that has been referenced in studies of 19th‑century American landscape painting.

As part of the National Gallery’s holdings, the work contributes to the ongoing assessment of Catlin’s role in shaping visual narratives of the West.

George Catlin's 1865 painting, A Buffalo Wallow, captures a scene of wildlife in its natural habitat. Executed in oil on card mounted on paperboard, this work presents a buffalo within a shallow depression, characteristic of the "wallow" where these animals seek rest and relief. The piece reflects Catlin's enduring interest in the American frontier and its inhabitants, a theme central to his artistic output.

Originally trained as a lawyer, George Catlin transitioned to painting, dedicating his career to recording life on the American frontier. His extensive travels through the West in the 1830s profoundly influenced his artistic direction, leading him to focus on Indigenous peoples and their environments. Although created decades after his initial expeditions, A Buffalo Wallow demonstrates Catlin's sustained commitment to depicting the region's wildlife, extending his visual record beyond human subjects.