Father Hennepin Leaving the Mississippi to Join La Salle. May 8, 1680

George Catlin created the oil-on-canvas painting Father Hennepin Leaving the Mississippi to Join La Salle. May 8, 1680 in 1848. The work remained in the artist's possession until his death in 1872, after which it passed by descent to his daughters Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin.

In 1912, Elizabeth Wing Catlin sold the piece to the American Museum of Natural History, which retained it until 1959, when it was sold through Kennedy Galleries in New York to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. Mellon gifted the work to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1965, where it currently resides. No exhibition history is documented in the available sources.

George Catlin, an American artist known primarily for his depictions of Native American cultures, completed "Father Hennepin Leaving the Mississippi to Join La Salle. May 8, 1680" in 1848. This oil on canvas painting portrays a specific historical moment from the late 17th century, featuring the explorer Father Hennepin.

While Catlin dedicated much of his career to documenting the American frontier, this work represents a departure, focusing instead on an earlier episode of European exploration in North America.

The painting illustrates a scene from May 8, 1680, when Father Louis Hennepin embarked from the Mississippi River to rendezvous with René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Catlin renders the explorer, clad in a long coat, stepping into a small boat on a broad river. The composition is framed by a prominent tree and distant mountains, suggesting the vast American landscape. This historical narrative, based on documented events, also incorporates elements of the artist's imaginative reconstruction.

George Catlin established his reputation through extensive travels across the American West during the 1830s, where he meticulously recorded the lives and cultures of Plains Indian tribes. His prolific output typically comprised portraits and genre scenes from these expeditions. "Father Hennepin Leaving the Mississippi to Join La Salle" stands as an infrequent example of his engagement with historical subjects, distinct from his direct observations of contemporary frontier life. Catlin often depicted events he had researched, blending factual accounts with his artistic interpretation.