Ye-hów-lo-gee, The Cloud, a Chief

About this artwork

George Catlin described the Cloud as “a Chief who distinguished himself in the [Seminole] war” and as “a very good-natured, jolly man, growing fat in his imprisonment.” The artist painted this portrait at Fort Moultrie, near Charleston, South Carolina, in January 1838. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 57, 1841, reprint 1973, and 1848 Catalogue, Catlin’s Indian Gallery, SAAM online exhibition)

Art Historical Context

In the heart of George Catlin's monumental project to document Native American cultures, *Ye-hów-lo-gee, The, a Chief* (1838) captures aole leader imprisoned during the Second Seminole War (1835–1842). Painted at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina, January 1838, this oil portrait portrays the chief with a dignified yet affable presence. Catlin himself described him "a Chief who distinguished himself in the [eminole] war" "a very good-natured, jolly man growing fat in his imprisonment," highlighting the humanity amid hardship. Catlin, a pioneering 19th-century artist and ethnographer, traveled extensively to paint over 600 portraits of Indigenous peoples, creating his famed *Indian Gallery* to preserve vanishing traditions before U.S. expansion altered them forever. This work exemplifies his realistic style—direct gazes, vivid details in regalia, and earthy tones—that aimed for authenticity over idealization, making it a vital historical record. Today, housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum (gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.), the painting offers visitors a poignant window into Seminole resistance and resilience, reminding us of the personal stories behind broader conflicts.

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 ...