Pash-ee-pa-hó, Little Stabbing Chief, the Younger, One of Black Hawk's Braves
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
1985.66.15
Tags
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)
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 ...