Artwork
Buffalo Chase - Bulls Protecting the Calves
Buffalo Chase - Bulls Protecting the Calves is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist George Catlin. It dates from 1865 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The landscape format and modest scale of the support reflect the documentary, observational character of Catlin's depictions of the buffalo chase.
Buffalo Chase – Bulls Protecting the Calves is an oil painting executed on card that has been mounted on paperboard. Classified as a painting within the landscape genre, the work measures 47 by 63.6 centimeters and dates to 1865.
The choice of card mounted on paperboard rather than canvas is consistent with Catlin's practice of working on portable, lightweight supports suited to field conditions, allowing the artist to capture Western American subjects on location. The landscape format and modest scale of the support reflect the documentary, observational character of Catlin's depictions of the buffalo chase.
History & Provenance
Buffalo Chase - Bulls Protecting the Calves (1865) was created by George Catlin and remains in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Its ownership began with the artist and passed by descent to his daughters Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. In 1912 it was purchased from Elizabeth Wing Catlin by the American Museum of Natural History, which sold it in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries, New York, to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia; Mellon gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965. The sources do not provide a specific accession number for the work nor document any exhibition history.
Overview
Created in 1865, Buffalo Chase – Bulls Protecting the Calves is an oil painting executed on a card that has been adhered to a paperboard support. The work portrays a herd of bison in motion, emphasizing the protective behavior of the adult males toward the young. Its composition captures a fleeting, energetic moment on the Great Plains.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts a group of buffalo sprinting across an open landscape, with several dominant bulls positioned between the calves and the rest of the herd. This arrangement highlights the natural instinct of the males to shield the vulnerable young from predators or danger, offering a glimpse into the social dynamics of the species.
Own this work as a print
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.
Bulls Fighting
Expedition Encamped on a Texas Prairie. April 1686
An Alligator's Nest
Mrs. George Catlin (Clara Bartlet Gregory)
Chief of the Taensa Indians Receiving La Salle. March 20, 1682
A Small Village - Payaguas Indians
Omaha Chief, His Wife, and a Warrior
Father Hennepin Leaving the Mississippi to Join La Salle. May 8, 1680
