An Indian Council - Sioux

George Catlin painted An Indian Council – Sioux in 1861 using oil on card mounted on paperboard. The work remained in the artist’s estate and passed to his daughters Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. In 1912 the painting entered the collection of the American Museum of Natural History, and in 1959 it was sold through Kennedy Galleries, New York, to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia.

Paul Mellon subsequently gifted the artwork to the National Gallery of Art in 1965, where it is presently held in Washington, D.C.

The painting An Indian Council - Sioux is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; its accession number is not listed in the source material.

The work passed from George Catlin to his daughters, then to Elizabeth Wing Catlin, who sold it to the American Museum of Natural History in 1912. Kennedy Galleries sold it in 1959 to Paul Mellon, who later gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965.

George Catlin, an American artist known for his depictions of Indigenous peoples, created An Indian Council - Sioux in 1865. This oil painting, rendered on card mounted on paperboard, captures a gathering of men beneath a large tree. The work is characteristic of Catlin's extensive efforts to document the lives and cultures of Native American tribes, particularly those from the Plains, which he observed during his travels decades earlier.

Catlin's comprehensive body of work, including this painting, played a crucial role in shaping public perception of Native American communities. Through his visual and written documentation, he aimed to present these diverse cultures with dignity and specificity. His efforts helped to humanize Indigenous peoples for a broad audience, offering a counter-narrative to prevailing stereotypes of the era.