Slaves' Dance - Saukie

George Catlin painted Slaves' Dance - Saukie in 1861, creating an oil on card work mounted on paperboard measuring 46.8 by 61 centimeters. The painting descended through Catlin's daughters, Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin, before being acquired by the American Museum of Natural History in 1912. It was purchased by Paul Mellon in 1959 via Kennedy Galleries, New York, and gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1965, where it remains today.

Created in 1861, Slaves’ Dance – Saukie is an oil painting executed on a thin card that has been mounted on paperboard. The work measures modestly and presents a small‑scale genre scene rather than a grand historical tableau. It is attributed to George Catlin, an American painter noted for his extensive visual records of Native American peoples and frontier life.

The composition shows three Black men gathered beneath a solitary tree, engaged in an exuberant dance. Their garments are rendered loosely, suggesting movement and a degree of informality. One figure lifts his foot dramatically, emphasizing rhythm, while the surrounding foliage is illuminated by a bright, almost radiant light, imparting a sense of both celebration and underlying tension.

The painting was completed the same year the American Civil War began, a period marked by profound social upheaval and debates over slavery. Although the work does not depict a specific event, the title and subject reflect contemporary interest in the lives of enslaved people and the cultural expressions that persisted despite oppression.