Joc-o-sot, the Walking Bear
Medium
Graphic Arts-Print
Classification
Graphic Arts-Print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Museum of Natural History, Department of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
1985.66.386,592L
Tags
Art Historical Context
George Catlin's *Joc-o-sot, the Walking Bear* is a striking full-length print capturing the dignified presence of a Native American figure, likely a warrior or leader from one of the Plains tribes Catlin encountered during his travels. As a pioneering 19th-century artist and ethnographer, Catlin dedicated his career to documenting Indigenous peoples of North America through portraits and scenes, creating an invaluable visual record before widespread cultural disruptions from westward expansion. This graphic arts print, housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, exemplifies Catlin's commit...
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 ...