Ignis Fatuus - Zurumati
1854/1869
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 46.2 x 61.2 cm (18 3/16 x 24 1/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Paul Mellon Collection
Accession Number
1965.16.261
Art Historical Context
George Catlin's *Ignis Fatuus - Zurumati* (1854/1869), an oil on canvas measuring 46.2 x 61.2 cm, the artist's lifelong dedication to portraying Native American life. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Mellon Collection, this intimate-scale painting reflects Catlin's realistic style, honed during his extensive travels across the American West in the1830s. He produced over 600 portraits and scenes of indigenous peoples, aiming to preserve their cultures amid rapid encroachment by settlers. The title blends Latin mysticism—"Ignis Fatuus," meaning "foolish fire" or will-o'-the-wisp, a ghost...
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 ...