The painting shows a Plains encampment from a slightly elevated point of view. The horizon line is high in the image, with a sky featuring soft clouds in light blue, pink, and white. In the center are teepees decorated with geometric patterns in beige, brown, and red. Figures, mostly indigenous people, are depicted around the camp. In the distance, a line of figures on horses moves diagonally to the right. The brushstrokes are detailed, emphasizing the teepees' patterns and the landscape's texture. The color palette is soft, with greens and light browns dominating.
Read the visual description

The painting shows a Plains encampment from a slightly elevated point of view. The horizon line is high in the image, with a sky featuring soft clouds in light blue, pink, and white. In the center are teepees decorated with geometric patterns in beige, brown, and red. Figures, mostly indigenous people, are depicted around the camp. In the distance, a line of figures on horses moves diagonally to the right. The brushstrokes are detailed, emphasizing the teepees' patterns and the landscape's texture. The color palette is soft, with greens and light browns dominating.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

A Little Sioux Village

George Catlin

Date
1861/1869
Medium
oil on card mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 47.6 x 63.8 cm (18 3/4 x 25 1/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
1965.16.4
Credit line
Paul Mellon Collection
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CAB

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • American
  • Village
  • American Paintings, Catlin
  • Sioux
  • North American Indian
  • architecture
Provenance

George Catlin [1796-1872]; by descent to his daughters, Clara Gregory Catlin, Louise Catlin Kinney, and Elizabeth Wing Catlin; purchased 1912 from Elizabeth Wing Catlin by the American Museum of Natural History; sold 1959 through (Kennedy Galleries, New York) to Mr. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA; gift 1965 to the NGA.

Inscription

lower left on card: A/89; upper center on board on applied paper: 128.; upper center reverse in graphite: (128); center reverse in graphite partially obscured by AMNH label: No 4

NGA object ID 50312. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.