View on the Missouri, Alluvial Banks Falling in, 600 Miles above St. Louis

About this artwork

George Catlin painted views of the Missouri River during the spring floods, and this image suggests that the ground he stood on was threatened by rising waters. He wrote that the river was “filled with snags and rafts, formed of trees of the largest size” and that such conditions made for a “most frightful and discouraging prospect for the adventurous voyageur.” Catlin had a sense of humor, and called the Missouri his “River of Sticks, ” playing on the mythological river Styx that le...

Art Historical Context

In 1832, George Catlin captured the raw power of the American West in *View on the Missouri,uvial Banks Falling in,600 Miles above St. Louis*. This oil painting depicts the Missouri River during spring floods, eroding alluvial banks crumble into the churning waters, just 600 miles upstream from St. Louis.lin, a pioneering artist of the Hudson River School era, journeyed up the river to document Native American life and the untamed frontier, creating vivid, realistic scenes that preserved a rapidly changing landscape. Catlin's on-site observations infuse the work with authenticity: he describe...

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 ...