A Small Orejona Village
1854/1869
Medium
oil on card mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 46.5 x 62.5 cm (18 5/16 x 24 5/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Paul Mellon Collection
Accession Number
1965.16.279
Art Historical Context
George Catlin's *A Small Orejona* (1854/1869) captures a poignant moment in 19th-century American history, showcasing the artist's lifelong dedication to documenting Native American on the Great Plains. Traveling extensively in the 183s among tribes west of the Mississippi, Catlin sketched hundreds of scenes to preserve cultures he feared were vanishing due to westward expansion and U.S. policies. The Orejona, likely referring to a Plains Indian group such as the Blackfeet, are depicted in their village setting, highlighting communal lodges and daily rhythms before profound changes overtook th...
About the Artist
George Catlin · 1796–1872
George Catlin (1796–1872), born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Putnam Catlin and Polly Sutton—who had been captured by Native Americans during the 1778 Battle of Wyoming—initially pursued a legal career. Trained at Litchfield Law School, he was admitted to the bar in 1819 but abandoned law after two years to study art in Philadelphia in 1823. Self-taught as a portraitist, Catlin quickly gained ...