Artwork
Driving the Pampas for Wild Cattle - Connibo
Driving the Pampas for Wild Cattle - Connibo 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. Driving the Pampas for Wild Cattle – Connibo is an 1862 oil painting executed on card that has been mounted on paperboard.
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on card that is mounted on paperboard, a support typical of mid-19th-century American works.
The painting is executed in oil on card that is mounted on paperboard, a support typical of mid-19th-century American works. Its dimensions measure 61.5 cm in width by 46 cm in height, reflecting the standard format recorded in the cataloguing data. The surface shows a smooth handling of brushwork that emphasizes expansive sky and rolling terrain, while the compositional balance highlights a solitary tree against the wide plains. These formal qualities contribute to the landscape’s atmospheric depth and the artist’s characteristic romantic realism.
History & Provenance
The painting was created in 1861 by George Catlin. It entered the artist's family through direct descent to his daughters Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. In 1912 the work was acquired from Elizabeth Wing Catlin by the American Museum of Natural History.
The piece was later sold in 1959 via Kennedy Galleries in New York to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. In 1965 it was gifted to the National Gallery of Art, where it remains in the collection today.
Following its creation in 1861, the painting remained within the artist's family, passing to his daughters Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. The American Museum of Natural History acquired the work from Elizabeth Wing Catlin in 1912. In 1959, the museum sold the piece through Kennedy Galleries in New York to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia.
Mellon subsequently donated the artwork to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1965, where it currently resides.
Overview
Driving the Pampas for Wild Cattle – Connibo is an 1862 oil painting executed on card that has been mounted on paperboard. The work measures a modest size and presents an open landscape populated by moving horses and cattle, with a solitary tree placed in the distance. It reflects the artist’s interest in frontier life during the mid‑nineteenth century.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures a moment of livestock being driven across the Pampas, a term historically used for the expansive grasslands of South America, though the scene is rendered with North American visual cues. The dynamic arrangement of the animals conveys a sense of motion and the practical labor involved in managing herds, offering a glimpse into the everyday realities of frontier economies.
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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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