Peh-tó-pe-kiss, Eagle's Ribs, a Piegan Chief
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
1985.66.160
Tags
About this artwork
A slight tilt of the head and a direct gaze reflect this sitter’s self-assurance. George Catlin admired Eagle’s Ribs as a brave warrior, writing that he was “one of the extraordinary men of the Blackfoot” and that he owned “eight scalps, which he says he has taken from the heads of trappers and traders with his own hand.” Catlin also noted that the chief’s ornate costume was covered with scalplocks both “savage and civil.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 5, 1841; reprint 1973)
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 ...