La Salle's Party Entering the Mississippi in Canoes. February 6, 1682

George Catlin created the oil painting La Salle's Party Entering the Mississippi in Canoes. February 6, 1682 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, the American Museum of Natural History purchased the canvas from Elizabeth Wing Catlin. The institution subsequently sold the painting in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries in New York to collector Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. Mellon donated the work to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1965, where it remains. No specific exhibition history or accession number is provided in the available records.

George Catlin's 1848 oil painting, "La Salle's Party Entering the Mississippi in Canoes. February 6, 1682," captures a pivotal moment in early American exploration. The work depicts a line of canoes, presumably carrying La Salle's expedition, navigating a wide river bordered by dense forests.

This piece exemplifies Catlin's broader artistic endeavor to document both the natural landscapes and the human activities shaping the American frontier, even when portraying historical events.

The painting illustrates Robert Cavelier de La Salle's 1682 expedition as it entered the Mississippi River. Native American men, identifiable by their leggings and headbands, are shown intently paddling a series of canoes. While Catlin was not a contemporary of La Salle, he reconstructed this scene, blending historical accounts with his artistic interpretation.

The work thus serves as a visual narrative of early encounters and the exploration of North America's vast waterways.

Created in 1848, this painting diverges from Catlin's more widely recognized work documenting Plains Indian life and Western landscapes during his travels in the 1830s. Although depicting an event from centuries prior, "La Salle's Party" aligns with his overarching interest in the American continent's history and its indigenous inhabitants. It represents an imaginative reconstruction rather than direct observation, a common practice in 19th-century history painting.