Documents Project #2
Project
Title: George Catlin and "Sioux War
Council"
Documents:
Source:
George Catlin,
"Sioux War Council," circa 1848, approximately 25 inches high by 32
inches wide, oil
paint on canvas, currently in a private collection.
Background:
George Catlin, whose mother and grandmother had once been Indian
captives, represents the fascination of some 19th Century artists with
Native Americans. Catlin was a self-taught painter and intended
his paintings to be documentation of Native American lives and
customs. He painted Native American portraits as well as Native
American in their villages, like "Sioux War Council," shown below, or
in landscapes. He traveled extensively through the west, visiting
48 different tribes, including the Mandan Indians of the Dakotas who
were nearly wiped out by smallpox soon after Catlin documented their
lives. Catlin created Wild West Shows of his paintings and
traveled throughout the east coast of the U.S. and Europe. Find
an excellent online biography of Catlin at this
University of Texas web site.
Documents:
 "The White Cloud, Head of the Iowas" |
 |
 "Prairie Meadows Burning" |
Click on the picture above for a
larger view.
Questions:
- What do you think prompted George Catlin to devote his life to documenting Native American culture?
- Describe the assembly shown in
"Sioux War Council."
- Describe Catlin's attitude toward this assembly.
- How important do you imagine accuracy was to Catlin? Do you
think his portraits and depictions of Native American life are accurate
or romanticized?
- Catlin's collection of paintings, native costumes, and other artifacts were donated to the Smithsonian Institute. Why would these objects be considered worthy of places in a museum?