Two Young Men
1835 or 1836
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
1985.66.235-236
Tags
About this artwork
George Catlin described this painting as “two Menominee youths at full length, in beautiful dresses . . . one with his war-club in his hand, and the other blowing on his ‘courting flute.’” He probably painted the image at Prairie du Chien or Green Bay in 1835 or 1836. (Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)
Art Historical Context
**Two Young Men** (1835 or 1836) by George Catlin captures two Menominee youths in a striking full-length portrait, showcasing their vibrant traditional attire. Catlin, a pioneering 19th-century American artist dedicated to documenting Native American life, described the painting vividly: one youth holds a war club, symbolizing martial prowess, while the other plays a courting flute, evoking and courtship rituals. Likely created on-site at Prairie du Chien or Bay in present-day Wisconsin, this work reflects Catlin's immersive fieldwork among tribes during his travels along the upper Mississipp...
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 ...