Pa-hú-sha, White Hair, the Younger, a Band Chief

About this artwork

“The White Hair is another distinguished leader of the Osages; and some have awarded to him the title of Head Chief; but in the jealous feelings of rivalry which have long agitated this tribe, and some times, even endangered its peace, I believe it has been generally agreed that his claims are third in the tribe; though he justly claims the title of a chief, and a very gallant and excellent man. The portrait of this man, I regret to say, I did not get.” George Catlin probably painted this im...

Art Historical Context

George Catlin's *Pa-hú-sha, White Hair, the Younger, a Band Chief* (1834) captures the dignified presence of an Osage leader during a pivotal era of American expansion. Painted at Fort Gibson in present-day Oklahoma, this full-length portrait depicts Pa-hú-sha in traditional Indian dress, holding a spear, embodying the pride and complexity of Osage tribal life. Catlin, a pioneering 19th-century artist, dedicated his career to documenting Native American cultures through hundreds of portraits, driven by fears that westward settlement would erase them forever. His journey among the Osages in 183...

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 ...