Ru-ton-wee-me, Pigeon on the Wing
1844
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
1985.66.526
Tags
About this artwork
Strutting Pigeon, Pigeon on the Wing, and Female War Eagle were among the fourteen Iowa who joined George Catlin in London in the 1840s, during the artistâs trip to Europe to exhibit and promote his Indian Gallery. Catlin eventually added the visiting Indians to his show, in which they performed dances and songs. His addition of Native Americans was controversial from the start. Charged with exploiting simple, innocent people in an alien and overwhelming environment, Catlin responded that he w...
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 ...