Artwork
An Aged Minatarree Chief and His Family
An Aged Minatarree Chief and His Family is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist George Catlin. It dates from 1865 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
These formal qualities align with mid-19th-century portrait conventions yet retain a distinctive immediacy characteristic of Catlin's ethnographic approach.
The painting is executed in oil on card that is mounted on paperboard, giving the surface a textured yet stable support. Brushwork appears controlled, defining facial features with nuanced tonal gradations that convey age and dignity. Composition balances the chief's direct gaze with the intimate positioning of his family members, creating a cohesive narrative tableau.
The palette employs earth tones punctuated by subtle highlights, reinforcing the formal gravity of the portrait while maintaining a naturalistic rendering of drapery and skin. These formal qualities align with mid-19th-century portrait conventions yet retain a distinctive immediacy characteristic of Catlin's ethnographic approach.
The work measures 46.5 cm in height and 62.1 cm in width, reflecting a modest scale typical of private portraiture from this period.
History & Provenance
George Catlin painted An Aged Minatarree Chief and His Family in 1862 as an oil on card mounted on paperboard portrait. The work descended through Catlin's daughters, Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin, before being sold by Elizabeth Wing Catlin in 1912 to the American Museum of Natural History. Kennedy Galleries in New York facilitated its 1959 sale to Paul Mellon, who gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965.
The painting measures 46.5 centimeters in height by 62.1 centimeters in width and remains in the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, D.C.
The painting An Aged Minatarree Chief and His Family is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Its provenance traces from the artist George Catlin to his daughters, with the work being purchased in 1912 by the American Museum of Natural History from Elizabeth Wing Catlin. The museum sold the piece in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries in New York to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia, who subsequently gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965. No specific accession number is provided in the available records, though the work entered the NGA collection via this direct gift from Mellon.
Overview
Created in 1865, An Aged Minatarree Chief and His Family is an oil painting executed on a card that has been mounted on paperboard. The work portrays four figures gathered outdoors, centered on an elderly chief seated beneath a tall feather‑adorned pole. The composition is set against a pale sky and a dry ground, rendered in muted earth tones with touches of soft blue.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is an aged Minatarree chief, distinguished by a towering feathered headdress and a robe, suggesting his status within the tribe. Adjacent to him, a second man cradles an infant, while a woman reclines on the earth, indicating a familial grouping. The feather‑decorated pole behind the chief may symbolize ceremonial authority or a marker of tribal identity.
Context
The painting emerges at a time when the United States was completing its westward expansion, and Native communities faced profound disruption. Catlin’s continued depiction of Indigenous subjects after his frontier expeditions reflects an enduring fascination with, and documentation of, cultures that were rapidly changing. The work thus offers a visual record that complements his earlier, more detailed ethnographic studies.
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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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