Kee-o-kúk, The Watchful Fox, Chief of the Tribe
1835
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
1985.66.1
Tags
About this artwork
George Catlin painted Kee-o-kúk at the Sac and Fox village in 1835. He described the chief as a “vain man” who was very pleased with his portraits, including this version. He wears an elaborate costume of white buckskin leggings, a red blanket, and a bear-claw necklace. Two years later, in 1837, Catlin brought Kee-o-kúk to Washington, where the artist showed his portraits, hoping the government would buy his Indian Gallery. During this visit, a journalist for the New York Evening Herald describe...
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 ...