The image depicts three individuals standing against a natural backdrop. The person on the left is a female with long dark hair styled into two braids, wearing a light-colored dress with fringes and beaded necklaces, and is barefoot. The central figure is a male with long hair adorned with feathers, wearing a cloak with a red sunburst design, and jewelry around his neck. The male figure on the right is holding a spear in his right hand and a shield in his left, wearing animal-skin leggings with fringes and a belt, and is barefoot. The background shows green grass, rolling hills, soft blue mountains under a clear sky, framed by an oval border within a rectangular frame.
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The image depicts three individuals standing against a natural backdrop. The person on the left is a female with long dark hair styled into two braids, wearing a light-colored dress with fringes and beaded necklaces, and is barefoot. The central figure is a male with long hair adorned with feathers, wearing a cloak with a red sunburst design, and jewelry around his neck. The male figure on the right is holding a spear in his right hand and a shield in his left, wearing animal-skin leggings with fringes and a belt, and is barefoot. The background shows green grass, rolling hills, soft blue mountains under a clear sky, framed by an oval border within a rectangular frame.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

A Yuma Chief, His Daughter, and a Warrior

George Catlin

Date
1855/1869
Medium
oil on card mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 46.5 x 62.1 cm (18 5/16 x 24 7/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
1965.16.172
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
  • Secondary chief (unnamed)
  • Daughter of chief (unnamed)
  • Jeems-fer-re, warrior
  • Yuma
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 50480. 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.