The image shows a painted scene viewed through an oval frame with a soft, muted border. The perspective places the observer at a ground level, looking onto a village setting with lush trees and tall plants in the foreground. Beyond the village, there is dense jungle foliage. Small houses with pitched roofs are visible along the horizon. The brushstrokes are delicate and precise, creating a soft, dreamlike quality in the scene. The color palette is dominated by earthy greens and browns with lighter shades suggesting an overcast sky.
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The image shows a painted scene viewed through an oval frame with a soft, muted border. The perspective places the observer at a ground level, looking onto a village setting with lush trees and tall plants in the foreground. Beyond the village, there is dense jungle foliage. Small houses with pitched roofs are visible along the horizon. The brushstrokes are delicate and precise, creating a soft, dreamlike quality in the scene. The color palette is dominated by earthy greens and browns with lighter shades suggesting an overcast sky.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

Arowak Village

George Catlin

Date
1854/1869
Medium
oil on card mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 45.9 x 62.3 cm (18 1/16 x 24 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
1965.16.267
Credit line
Paul Mellon Collection
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CAB

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • American
  • Village
  • American Paintings, Catlin
  • Arowak
  • South 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.

NGA object ID 50575. 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.