Fort Union

George Catlin executed the oil painting Fort Union in 1861. Following the artist's death in 1872, the work passed by descent to his three daughters: Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. In 1912, the American Museum of Natural History purchased the piece directly from Elizabeth Wing Catlin.

The museum later sold the painting in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries of New York to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. Mellon subsequently donated the work to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1965.

Fort Union entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1965 as a gift from Paul Mellon. Prior to this acquisition, the work passed through several hands following the death of its creator, George Catlin. It was inherited by his daughters and subsequently purchased by the American Museum of Natural History in 1912 from Elizabeth Wing Catlin.

The museum sold the painting in 1959 via Kennedy Galleries in New York to Mellon, who held it in Upperville, Virginia, before donating it to the national collection.

No specific exhibition history or inventory accession numbers for the work are provided in the available records.

Created in 1865, Fort Union is an oil painting executed on card that has been mounted to a paperboard support. The composition presents a solitary tree set against an unadorned background, allowing the viewer’s attention to rest almost entirely on the lone trunk and its foliage. The work reflects George Catlin’s later period, when he turned from portraiture toward more restrained landscape studies.