Artwork
Shawano Indians
Shawano Indians is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist George Catlin. It dates from 1865 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Shawano Indians is an oil painting executed on card mounted on paperboard, a support choice typical of George Catlin's portable field-format works.
Shawano Indians is an oil painting executed on card mounted on paperboard, a support choice typical of George Catlin's portable field-format works. The composition measures 46.9 cm in height by 63.5 cm in width, producing a horizontal format suited to a group portrait arrangement. Classified as a painting within the portrait genre, the work is dated 1861 and reflects Catlin's characteristic direct, documentary approach to depicting Native American subjects, rendered in oil with the matte, somewhat dry handling associated with paint applied to a rigid card surface rather than canvas.
The mounted paperboard support has shaped the painting's preservation history, allowing the relatively thin oil layer to remain stable through successive changes of ownership from the artist to the National Gallery of Art.
History & Provenance
George Catlin painted this portrait in 1861. It descended through his daughters to Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin. The work was purchased in 1912 from Elizabeth Wing Catlin by the American Museum of Natural History.
Kennedy Galleries in New York sold it in 1959 to Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. The National Gallery of Art received the piece as a gift in 1965.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it is accessioned as 1965.1.11. It was a gift from Paul Mellon in 1965, having been purchased from Kennedy Galleries in 1959 from Elizabeth Wing Catlin, who had inherited it from the artist’s daughters.
It has not been recorded as included in any public exhibitions in the sources provided.
Overview
Created in 1865, Shawano Indians is an oil painting executed on card that has been mounted to a paperboard support. The work measures a modest size typical of George Catlin’s portable field studies and presents a small group of figures in a tranquil outdoor setting.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts five individuals, two adult men on the left in modest attire with beaded necklaces, two adult men on the right adorned with tall feathered headdresses and carrying staffs, and two children positioned in front. The arrangement emphasizes cultural dress and familial presence, offering a visual record of Shawnee appearance as observed by the artist.
Context
The work belongs to a broader effort by Catlin to preserve visual information about Plains and other Indigenous peoples at a time of rapid cultural change. His field sketches, often made on small cards, were later transferred to more durable supports such as paperboard, allowing the images to circulate among audiences interested in the American frontier.
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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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