Artwork
A Fight with Peccaries - Caribbe
A Fight with Peccaries - Caribbe is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist George Catlin. It dates from 1862 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Executed in 1862, this work is an oil painting on canvas. The composition is a genre scene that includes a tree as a central visual element. The support measures 45.2 cm in height and 61 cm in width.
The piece is classified as a painting within the genre-scene category, reflecting the artist's approach to depicting specific narratives through traditional oil mediums on canvas.
History & Provenance
In 1965 the painting was gifted to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.
Painted in 1862, the work entered George Catlin's estate and passed by descent to his daughters Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. It was acquired in 1912 from Elizabeth Wing Catlin by the American Museum of Natural History, then sold in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries in New York to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. In 1965 the painting was gifted to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains part of the permanent collection.
Context
A Fight with Peccaries - Caribbe (1862) by George Catlin is held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having been gifted by Paul Mellon in 1965. The work originated with the artist's family, passing through his daughters Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin before its 1912 purchase by the American Museum of Natural History and its 1959 sale to Mellon through Kennedy Galleries in New York. It remains part of the institution's permanent holdings.
Overview
Created in 1862, A Fight with Peccaries – Caribbe is an oil painting on canvas by George Catlin. The work captures a violent encounter among wild peccaries beneath a towering tree in a densely wooded setting. The composition is dominated by the clash of the animals, whose fur and the surrounding foliage are rendered with meticulous attention, creating a vivid snapshot of frontier wilderness.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a moment of raw animal behavior, emphasizing the struggle for survival within the American frontier’s untamed forests. By focusing on the peccaries’ frenzied battle, Catlin highlights the vitality and danger inherent in the natural world that surrounded many Indigenous communities, reflecting his broader interest in documenting the ecosystems that shaped native lifeways.
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Artist & collection
Artist
George Catlin ( KAT-lin; July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the American frontier.
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