Pam-a-hó, The Swimmer, One of Black Hawk's Warriors

About this artwork

George Catlin painted Black Hawk and his warriors when they were prisoners at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis in October 1832. Catlin's visit to Jefferson Barracks must have taken place shortly after he returned from the Upper Missouri. With the experience of his most productive summer behind him, he turned to the Sac prisoners, painting them with a sure economy that emphasizes the oval geometry of their features and their shaven skulls. (Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)

Art Historical Context

In 1832, amid the aftermath of the Black Hawk War artist George Catlin painted *Pam-a-hó, The Swimmer, One of Black Hawk's* while the Sauk leader and his captives were imprisoned Jefferson Barracks near St Louis. This portrait captures pivotal moment: Black Hawk, a prominent Sauk chief, had led a resistance against U.S. territorial expansion in and Wisconsin, but his defeat marked a tragic chapter in Native American displacement. Catlin, driven by a mission to document indigenous cultures before they vanished, seized the opportunity to portray these warriors shortly after his own expedition up...

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 ...