Eé-shah-kó-nee, Bow and Quiver, First Chief of the Tribe
1834
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Accession Number
1985.66.46
Tags
About this artwork
George Catlin described this Comanche chief as âpleasant looking . . . without anything striking or peculiar in his looks; dressed in a very humble manner . . . his hair carelessly falling about his face, and over his shoulders.â He noted that âthe only ornaments to be seen about him were a couple of beautiful shells worn in his ears, and a boarâs tusk attached to his neck, and worn on his breast.â The chiefâs mild demeanor masks the ferocious struggle against white settlers that his...
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 ...