Portrait of a Gentleman
George Catlin
1827
Medium
Watercolor on ivory
Dimensions
2 3/8 x 1 7/8 in. (6 x 4.8 cm)
Classification
Painting, miniature
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Gift in memory of Elizabeth B. Besobrasow, 1985
Accession Number
1985.141.1
Tags
MenPortraits
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 ...