Mah-tó-che-ga, Little Bear, a Hunkpapa Brave
1832
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
1985.66.84
Tags
About this artwork
George Catlin painted Little Bear at Fort Pierre, on the west bank of the Missouri near what is now known as the Bad River. While the artist worked on this portrait, the Dog, a chief of the Bad Arrow Points Band, noticed that Catlin only showed a three-quarter view of his subject and commented that Little Bear was âbut half a man.â The Indians began to argue and after Catlin completed the portrait, the Dog followed Little Bear home, where the two men fought and Little Bear was killed. (Gurne...
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 ...