The image shows three individuals standing in full length facing the viewer. On the left stands a woman with dark hair, wearing a brown fringed dress with red leggings. The middle figure, likely a man, wears a beaded garment and a headpiece with feathers. He holds a stick or staff. The figure on the right, also likely a man, wears a feathered headdress, a beaded necklace, and an arm band. He is bare-chested with a blue cloth covering his lower body, grey leggings, and holds a painted shield and a ceremonial club. The background features a softly painted horizon within an oval border.
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The image shows three individuals standing in full length facing the viewer. On the left stands a woman with dark hair, wearing a brown fringed dress with red leggings. The middle figure, likely a man, wears a beaded garment and a headpiece with feathers. He holds a stick or staff. The figure on the right, also likely a man, wears a feathered headdress, a beaded necklace, and an arm band. He is bare-chested with a blue cloth covering his lower body, grey leggings, and holds a painted shield and a ceremonial club. The background features a softly painted horizon within an oval border.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

Athapasca Chief, His Wife, and a Warrior

George Catlin

Date
1855/1869
Medium
oil on card mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 45.5 x 62 cm (17 15/16 x 24 7/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
1965.16.164
Credit line
Paul Mellon Collection
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CAB

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • American
  • American Paintings, Catlin
  • North American Indian
  • portrait
  • Athapasca
  • Kol-o-wos-ka, warrior
  • Ohkst, wife of chief
  • Ve-hoots-ah-a (The Sleepy Eyes), chief
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.

NGA object ID 50472. 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.