Artwork
Klatsop Indians
Klatsop 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 painting on card, later mounted on paperboard, depicts a group of five Klatsop individuals.
About this work
Technique & Style
The physical construction involves the layering of materials, with the primary painted surface on card adhered to a stiffer paperboard backing.
Executed in 1862, this portrait utilizes oil paint applied to a card support, which is subsequently mounted onto paperboard. The work measures 46.3 cm in height and 61.5 cm in width. As a painting by George Catlin, the piece functions within the genre of portraiture, depicting subjects identified as Klatsop Indians.
The physical construction involves the layering of materials, with the primary painted surface on card adhered to a stiffer paperboard backing.
History & Provenance
The work was painted by George Catlin in 1862 and is oil on card mounted on paperboard.
It descended by family inheritance from the artist to his daughters Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. In 1912 the American Museum of Natural History purchased it from Elizabeth Wing Catlin. The painting was later sold in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries, New York, to Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia.
In 1965 Mellon gifted the work to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it remains. Its dimensions are 46.3 cm in height and 61.5 cm in width.
Overview
Created in 1862, this oil painting on card, later mounted on paperboard, depicts a group of five Klatsop individuals. The work is attributed to George Catlin, an American who shifted from law to art and spent several expeditions in the 1830s traveling among Native peoples to record their appearance and customs.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents five figures arranged in a line: three men wearing feathered headdresses and necklaces, and two women dressed in skirts woven from plant fibers. All are barefoot and hold simple implements, a stick, a club, and a bow, suggesting everyday activities and material culture of the Klatsop community.
Context
The painting belongs to a broader tradition of early 19th‑century American portraiture that aimed to preserve a visual record of peoples perceived as vanishing. Catlin’s outsider perspective, combined with his lack of formal academic training, placed his work within the folk art sphere, where accuracy of dress and posture took precedence over artistic convention.
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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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