Stu-mick-o-súcks, Buffalo Bull's Back Fat, Head Chief, Blood Tribe

About this artwork

George Catlin's Indian Gallery is an unparalleled collection of great artistic and historic significance that contributes to understanding America's frontier and the cultures of the Native Americans who lived there. George Catlin (1796-1872) was the first major artist to travel beyond the Mississippi to record what he called the "manner and customs" of American Indians, painting scenes and portraits from life. He wanted to document these native cultures before they were irrevocably altered by se...

Art Historical Context

**Stu-mick-o-súcks, Buffalo Bull's Fat, Head Chief, Tribe** (1832) by Georgelin captures the dignified likeness of a prominent Blackfoot leader from the Blood Tribe. Painted during Catlin's pioneering expeditions across the Great Plains between 1830 and 1836, this oil portrait part of his monumental Indian Gallery—over works documenting more than 50 Native American tribes. As the first major artist to venture beyond the Mississippi, Cat sketched and painted from life, driven by a urgent mission to preserve the "manners and customs" of Indigenous peoples before the devastating impacts of front...

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 ...