
Read the visual description
The image shows a landscape scene framed in an oval shape. The view includes a native encampment with conical structures scattered across a grassy field. A hill in the background slopes gently upwards towards the horizon. The painting features smooth brushstrokes and realistic yet softly idealized vegetation and sky. The color palette consists of warm greens, browns, and earthy tones for the land, while the sky transitions from light blue to soft peach. In the distance, gentle hills fade into the background under a tranquil sky. The oval frame and muted border add to the serene quality of the scene.
National Gallery of Art · Painting
A Small Cheyenne Village
George Catlin
- Date
- 1861/1869
- Medium
- oil on card mounted on paperboard
- Dimensions
- overall: 45.7 x 62.2 cm (18 x 24 1/2 in.)
- Classification
- Painting
- Accession number
- 1965.16.41
- Credit line
- Paul Mellon Collection
- Time span
- 1851 to 1875
- Department
- CAB
Subjects and terms
- painted surface
- American
- Village
- American Paintings, Catlin
- North American Indian
- architecture
- Cheyenne
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/134; upper center on board on applied paper: 402; reverse in graphite: 402
NGA object ID 50349. 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.