Artwork
Excavating a Canoe - Nayas Indians
Excavating a Canoe - Nayas Indians is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist George Catlin. It dates from 1862 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1862, this oil-on-card work records a group of Nayas Indians engaged in the construction of a canoe.
About this work
Technique & Style
The physical construction involves the layering of the painted card onto a paperboard backing, a method distinct from traditional canvas or panel supports.
George Catlin's Excavating a Canoe - Nayas Indians is executed in oil paint applied to a card support, which is subsequently mounted on paperboard. The work measures 46.5 cm in height and 61.7 cm in width. Classified as a genre scene, the painting was created in 1862.
The physical construction involves the layering of the painted card onto a paperboard backing, a method distinct from traditional canvas or panel supports.
History & Provenance
The painting Excavating a Canoe – Nayas Indians was created by George Catlin in 1862, as recorded in the artist’s corpus and confirmed by its Wikidata entry.
Its provenance traces from Catlin himself to his daughters, Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin, who inherited the work. In 1912, Elizabeth Wing Catlin sold it to the American Museum of Natural History. The painting was later acquired in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries, New York, by Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia, who donated it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965, where it remains in the collection.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., accessioned as 1965.1.106.
Its exhibition history includes display at the American Museum of Natural History after its 1912 acquisition from Elizabeth Wing Catlin, followed by ownership changes before its 1965 gift to the National Gallery of Art.
Context
Painted in 1862, this canvas entered the National Gallery of Art in 1965 after passing through the artist's daughters and a New York dealer, reflecting Catlin's enduring presence in American art circles.
Scholarship on the work emphasizes its ethnographic framing of Indigenous life, situating Catlin within 19th-century dialogues on exploration and representation.
The painting's journey, from Catlin's estate to the American Museum of Natural History and later to the National Gallery, underscores its significance as both an artistic and cultural artifact.
Overview
Created in 1862, this oil-on-card work records a group of Nayas Indians engaged in the construction of a canoe. The scene is set within a dense forest, where figures are shown seated and kneeling, collectively shaping a long wooden vessel. The composition combines naturalistic detail with a documentary intent, reflecting the artist’s aim to record frontier life.
Subject & Meaning
The painting captures a communal labor activity, emphasizing the cooperative nature of canoe building among the Nayas. By focusing on the hands‑on process, the work highlights the practical skills and cultural significance of watercraft within the tribe, offering insight into everyday Indigenous practices rather than ceremonial or mythic themes.
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
