
Read the visual description
The painting depicts a wide view from a slightly elevated perspective, showing a scene of daily life. The horizon is high in the image, where green hills meet the sky. The sky is painted with soft brushstrokes in blue, pink, and orange hues. The grassy plains in the forefront and background have figures, tepees, people, and horses engaged in various activities. The oval frame contains the composition. The color palette is natural and earthy, dominated by greens and browns, with pastel hues in the sky.
National Gallery of Art · Painting
A Sioux Village
George Catlin
- Date
- 1861/1869
- Medium
- oil on card mounted on paperboard
- Dimensions
- overall: 45.7 x 62.1 cm (18 x 24 7/16 in.)
- Classification
- Painting
- Accession number
- 1965.16.12
- 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/101; upper center on board in pink paint: 311
NGA object ID 50320. 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.