Artwork
The Running Fox on a Fine Horse - Saukie
The Running Fox on a Fine Horse - Saukie 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. Created in 1865, The Running Fox on a Fine Horse – Saukie is an oil painting executed on card that has been mounted on a paperboard support.
About this work
Technique & Style
The Running Fox on a Fine Horse - Saukie is executed in oil on card mounted on paperboard, a modest support characteristic of George Catlin's later portable practice. The work is classified as a painting of a genre scene, measuring 47.5 by 63.5 centimeters in a horizontal format suited to its equestrian subject.
History & Provenance
The work has not been recorded in major published exhibition catalogues since its acquisition, and no exhibition history is documented in the cited sources.
Created in 1861, the painting The Running Fox on a Fine Horse - Saukie was executed by George Catlin using oil on card mounted on paperboard. 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 piece from Elizabeth Wing Catlin. It was subsequently sold in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries in New York to Mr. Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., received the painting as a gift from Paul Mellon in 1965, where it remains part of the collection.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection in 1965 as a gift from Paul Mellon.
Its National Gallery of Art accession number is 1965.13.105. The work has not been recorded in major published exhibition catalogues since its acquisition, and no exhibition history is documented in the cited sources.
Overview
Created in 1865, The Running Fox on a Fine Horse – Saukie is an oil painting executed on card that has been mounted on a paperboard support. The work belongs to the American folk‑art tradition and records a moment of Native American equestrian life as observed by the artist during his western travels.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a Plains Indian rider, identified by his feathered headdress, fringed buckskin shirt, and a feathered staff held in his right hand. He guides a dark brown horse caught in mid‑gallop across a green field beneath a pale blue sky, conveying a sense of motion and the cultural importance of horsemanship among the tribes.
Own this work as a print
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.
Bulls Fighting
Expedition Encamped on a Texas Prairie. April 1686
An Alligator's Nest
Mrs. George Catlin (Clara Bartlet Gregory)
Chief of the Taensa Indians Receiving La Salle. March 20, 1682
A Small Village - Payaguas Indians
Omaha Chief, His Wife, and a Warrior
Father Hennepin Leaving the Mississippi to Join La Salle. May 8, 1680
The Scalper Scalped - Pawnees and Cheyennes
Crow Chief, His Wife, and a Warrior
Two Saukie Chiefs and a Woman
A K'nisteneux Warrior and Family
Riccarree Chief and His Wife
Saukie Warrior, His Wife, and a Boy
Copper Chief, His Wife, and Children
Osage Chief with Two Warriors
Two Weeah Warriors and a Woman
Ojibbeway Indians