Mah-to-toh-pa, the Mandan Chief
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
1985.66.386,593N
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Mah-to-toh-pa, the Mandan Chief** is a striking graphic arts print by George Catlin capturing the dignified presence of a prominent Mandan leader. Catlin, a pioneering 19th-century American, devoted much of his career to documenting American tribes of the Great Plains through vivid portraits and scenes. This full-length depiction showcases Mah-to-toh-pa in traditional regalia, highlighting the chief's stature and cultural pride. Created as a print from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, work reflects Catlin's ethnographic approach, blending portraiture with cultural preservat...
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 ...