At the age of
30, in 1830 a young curious artist named George Catlin set out into the unknown
Western United States in search of knowledge and the experience of meeting and
painting the Native American’s he meets along his travels. Only 23 years
before had the West just begun to be explored by Lewis and Clark who were sent
by Thomas Jefferson on a three-year mission to discover the newly attained
Louisiana Purchase.(Smithsonian) “’ If my life be spared, nothing shall stop me
from visiting every nation of Indians on the Continent of North America.’ With
these words George Catlin staked his artistic claim. He was the first great
painter to travel beyond the Mississippi to paint the Indian.”(Smithsonian)
Catlin’s interest in the Native Americans seems unique and interesting for this
time period where so many people feared Native Americans.
Catlin’s journey to paint the Native
Americans began in 1830 when he went to St. Louis to meet explorer William
Clark to learn as much as he could about the Native American’s before he began
his adventure. Once in the West, Catlin was faced with a new challenge. The
Native American’s were not all being relocated by the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act was a law signed on May
28, 1830 by President Andrew Jackson that gave the President power to trade
unsettled land to the West for Native American land in what was the current
United States. The catch to this law was that the Native American’s had no
option whether they left or not. Although a few of the times peacefully made
the transition to other land, others were forced off their land. An example of
this was the Trail of Tears which was the path the Cherokees were forced to
take from their old land to their new land, over 4,000 lost their lives along
the way. (Primary Documents in American History)
In 1832, Catlin’s real journey began as
he set out to begin painting the Native Americans he would meet along the way. By
the end of his travels Catlin had painted “more than 500 portraits, scenes and
landscapes and accumulated an astonishing collection of Indian artifacts.”
(Catlin) Many of the artifacts that Catlin collected on his journey were later
displayed in museums and galleries in major cities around the United States. I think
it is noble that Catlin shared what he had found because at that point it was
somewhat taboo to associate with the Native Americans.
Catlin’s art and collected artifacts gave people who
may have no firsthand experience with Native American’s a less biased picture
than what is being presented by the government. Catlin strikes me as a pioneer
of his time on spreading Knowledge of Native Americans and their culture.
Although many of Catlin’s art does not show happy smiling Native American’s it
does not picture them as harshly as many other photos. The Native American’s pictured in Catlin’s
painting appear to be strong and noble looking such as seen in “Stu-mick-o-súcks,
Buffalo Bull's Back Fat, head chief, Blood Tribe, 1832, George Catlin, oil
on canvas.” (Catlin, 1832) Catlin takes a more respectful approach by picturing
the Native American’s as they are instead of trying to make them appear scary
and dangerous through his art.
Catlin was a pioneer of his time because
he went against the norm and embraced and pictured the Native Americans as real
people and not the savages or barbarians that many thought them to be
Illustrations:
Catlin, George. Stu-mick-o-súcks,
Buffalo Bull's Back Fat, head chief, Blood Tribe, 1832, . 1832. Smithsonian
American Art Museum, Wishington, DC. George Catlin and His Indian Gallery.
Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Catlin, George. Self Portrait.
N.d. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Smithsonian
American Art Institue. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Reference:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, George
Catlin / American Art. Retrieved January 30, 2014,
from http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=782
Primary
Documents in American History. (n.d.). Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents
of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress).
Retrieved January 30, 2014, from
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Indian.html
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteReviewing Catlin’s photos during this first module has been interesting. As a young girl Catlin’s mother and grandmother were abducted by the Iroquois . They were later released unharmed, but this could have produced negative preconceptions of the Native American’s. Catlin instead painted the Native Americans as normal people versus the savages that many thought they were. Catlin had taken the time to learn about and understand the Natives. As Catlin stated, the Native Americans “had been invaded, their morals corrupted, their lands wrested from them, their customs changed, and therefore lost to the world.”
Watson, B. 2002, George Catlin’s Obsession, Retrieved from: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/george-catlins-obsession-72840046/#ixzz2tPJ2V8ND
Contrary to what you said I think the release unharmed of Catlin's mother and grandmother could of provided him with a better image of the Native Americans. They very well could have murdered his family after they were taken but instead they were cared for at least to some level and allowed to leave instead of being killed. Although I'm sure they weren't in the best conditions knowing that they released your family instead of murdering them night help you to see someone in a better light
DeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteYou did do a very good job reviewing this topic...I am glad that you learned so much from it! That being said, though I like the review of Catlin, but the focus of this assignment was to be on the additional resources included in Module 1 Resources. An easy to do this moving forward would be to combine what you are learning in the other assignment resources, like Catlin, and look at something new in the Module resources to give you an even broader view of Indian Country. Let me know if you have any questions about this moving forward.
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean when you talk about the nobility of the way in which Catlin portrayed the Native Americans he met. I think there was a respect and honesty in Catlin's art that was lacking in the images done by other artists of the time of Native Americans. A very interesting man; thanks for the info!