I can only imagine the look on George Catlin’s
parents’ faces if they were alive when he made the announcement that he was
leaving his career as an attorney.
Changing careers might be common enough today, but to leave the possible
prestige and income of the legal world might be considered by some to be preposterous. But George Catlin had a gift that he needed
to use.
After meeting with the explorer William Clark
of the Louis & Clark expeditions, George had a plan. He intended to visit as many Native American
tribes on the continent that he could.
While we might be tempted to only consider George a painter, he also “considered himself a scientist, explorer,
author, and entrepreneur.” By the end of
the 19th century, Catlin had painted over 500 landscapes, scenes and
portraits of life as a Native American.
Some of the scenes included antelope shooting, earth-covered lodges, a
woman with her child, many paintings of buffalo and many other hunting and recreational activity scenes. George needed to work quickly because when he
started out in 1830, he couldn’t have known that the Indian Removal Act was
coming which forced Native Americans out of their land and into government
assigned territory.
George
Catlin toured the continent to gain an audience for his paintings but found
himself in a great deal of debt which almost cost him his entire
collection. What he lost paying for his
debts, he made up for by recreating 400 additional paintings. Like many artists, George was probably not appreciated
for his talent until after his death in 1872.
Seven years later, The Smithsonian Institute received his Indian
Gallery.
Here is a picture of George Catlin as well as a few of his paintings:
Excellent. I find Catlin's work to be very important to the start of class. I like combining the visual with the history. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that George Catlin expanded his gallery to "to include actors, who wore costumes from Catlin’s own collection and performed tableaux vivants---staged reenactments of Indian songs, dances, and war scenes. This portrait shows Catlin’s nephew dressed for a performance. The artist concentrated on capturing the young man’s features, leaving the costume unfinished; he was always interested in the skin tones of his Indian subjects, and it appears that he worked to modify his nephew’s coloring to make him look more “authentic.”
ReplyDeleteSee the image at: https://www.google.com/search?q=theodore+burr&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSjgEaiwELEKjU2AQaBAgCCEIMCxCwjKcIGmIKYAgDEijDD6UVxgv4EaQVwg_1ED6gRsg6SDrs6vTq8Ork6tzq2Ovwt1z7ZLLU6GjD-mDFoEHfMJdSRhwtvM9eoozJewE_1xuLX0JIsUEKRHDO5aw_1ZKBMPfvGveWOyMqTAgAwwLEI6u_1ggaCgoICAESBGHNG9QM&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi73vug8v3LAhVBChoKHXpHD30Qwg4IGigA&biw=1041&bih=706
I found it interesting that George Catlin expanded his gallery to "to include actors, who wore costumes from Catlin’s own collection and performed tableaux vivants---staged reenactments of Indian songs, dances, and war scenes. This portrait shows Catlin’s nephew dressed for a performance. The artist concentrated on capturing the young man’s features, leaving the costume unfinished; he was always interested in the skin tones of his Indian subjects, and it appears that he worked to modify his nephew’s coloring to make him look more “authentic.”
ReplyDeleteSee the image at: https://www.google.com/search?q=theodore+burr&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSjgEaiwELEKjU2AQaBAgCCEIMCxCwjKcIGmIKYAgDEijDD6UVxgv4EaQVwg_1ED6gRsg6SDrs6vTq8Ork6tzq2Ovwt1z7ZLLU6GjD-mDFoEHfMJdSRhwtvM9eoozJewE_1xuLX0JIsUEKRHDO5aw_1ZKBMPfvGveWOyMqTAgAwwLEI6u_1ggaCgoICAESBGHNG9QM&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi73vug8v3LAhVBChoKHXpHD30Qwg4IGigA&biw=1041&bih=706
The artist's work is perceived as a portrayal of corruption. The original image of the chief is the untainted image of a Native American chief. The interpretation of the art is controversial from the belief system surrounding the "corruption" of Native Americans. It was believed by Christians that the Native Americans were so wild and unorganized that they required the teachings of Christ to help them with a more structured or innocent life. That the polygamy, naked dancing around fires, trading of wives, and other forms of sin that were parts of Indian culture required the order of the Christian Church. The interpretaiton of the tainted Indian Chief suggests political corruption. This would differ from the other forms of moral corruption that required the interventions per the invading United States government to the Indian tribes. So really, there are several forms of corruption occuring in not only the artist, but also the interpretation and what was really transpiring as the Chief took on the image of a corrupt politician.
ReplyDeleteSource:
Images of Native Americans. The Bancroft Library: CATLIN'S NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN PORTFOLIO. HUNTING SCENES AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND PRAIRIES OF AMERICA. London. George Catlin, C. and J. Adlard, printers, 1844. Retrieved November 14th, 2017 from: