La Salle and Party Arrive at the Village of the Illinois. January 1, 1680

George Catlin painted La Salle and Party Arrive at the Village of the Illinois in 1850, depicting the 1680 encounter between French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, and members of the Illinois people. The work was created as an oil on canvas history painting, reflecting Catlin’s lifelong focus on documenting Native American cultures and French colonial expeditions. After Catlin’s death, the painting descended through his daughters, Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin, before being sold in 1912 to the American Museum of Natural History.

It later passed through Kennedy Galleries in New York and was acquired by Paul Mellon in 1959, who subsequently gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965.

The provenance chain is well documented, tracing ownership from Catlin’s family to institutional and private collectors, with the National Gallery of Art now holding the work in its permanent collection.

The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it is recorded with accession number 1965.1.88.

Its exhibition history begins with its acquisition by the American Museum of Natural History in 1912, followed by a sale in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries to Paul Mellon, who gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965.

The painting influenced later American historical art and was collected by major institutions. It entered the National Gallery of Art's collection through the bequest of Paul Mellon in 1965, affirming its significance in American art history.

Its depiction of French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle arriving at an Illinois village has become an iconic representation of early colonial encounters, frequently referenced in scholarship on 19th-century American historical painting and the visual culture of westward expansion.

George Catlin’s 1848 oil painting on card, titled La Salle and Party Arrive at the Village of the Illinois, January 1, 1680, portrays a winter scene in which a wooden boat approaches a native settlement. Snow blankets the ground, smoke curls from the dwellings, and members of the Illinois tribe stand on the shore in fur robes, holding bows.

The work imagines the historic encounter between French explorer René R. La Salle’s expedition and the Illinois people. By depicting the tribe awaiting the newcomers, Catlin emphasizes early contact between European explorers and Indigenous communities, reflecting his interest in recording frontier encounters.

During the 1830s Catlin traveled extensively through the American West, creating portraits and scenes of Indigenous peoples. His later historical works, such as this one, blend personal memory with second‑hand accounts, illustrating the 19th‑century fascination with early colonial encounters.