Artwork
Three Walla Walla Indians
Three Walla Walla Indians is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist George Catlin. It dates from 1862 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1862, the work presents three members of the Walla Walla tribe arranged in a straightforward portrait composition.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work functions both as a portrait and as a visual record of Indigenous appearance, emphasizing the sitters' roles within their community.
The painting portrays members of the Walla Walla people, an Indigenous nation of the Pacific Northwest. Catlin rendered the subjects with traditional dress and adornments that signal tribal identity and status, reflecting nineteenth-century ethnographic interest in Native American cultures. The work functions both as a portrait and as a visual record of Indigenous appearance, emphasizing the sitters' roles within their community.
The piece is housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Technique & Style
George Catlin executed Three Walla Walla Indians in 1862 using oil paint applied to card, which was subsequently mounted on a paperboard support. This portrait measures 47.2 cm in height and 61.8 cm in width. The work is classified as a painting within the portrait genre, capturing the formal likeness of the subjects through the artist's characteristic handling of oil on a rigid, composite support structure.
History & Provenance
George Catlin painted Three Walla Walla Indians in 1862, an oil on card mounted on paperboard now held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The work descended through Catlin's daughters before being purchased in 1912 from Elizabeth Wing Catlin by the American Museum of Natural History. It was later sold in 1959 through Kennedy Galleries, New York, to Paul Mellon, who gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965, where it is accessioned as 1965.16.1.
Overview
Created in 1862, the work presents three members of the Walla Walla tribe arranged in a straightforward portrait composition. Rendered in oil on a card that has been affixed to paperboard, the image is part of the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C. The figures stand against a pale blue sky, conveying a calm, open atmosphere.
Context
The image reflects Catlin’s broader project of documenting tribal cultures during a period of rapid displacement and cultural change. By portraying the subjects in a dignified, individualized manner, the work counters contemporary stereotypes, offering a rare visual testimony of Walla Walla attire and material culture in the mid‑nineteenth century.
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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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