Archery of the Mandan

George Catlin, Archery of the Mandan, 1835-1837, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.435
Copied George Catlin, Archery of the Mandan, 1835-1837, oil on canvas, 19 5⁄8 x 27 1⁄2 in. (49.7 x 70.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.435
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Archery of the Mandan
Artist
Date
1835-1837
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 5⁄8 x 27 1⁄2 in. (49.7 x 70.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Indian — Mandan
  • Figure group — male
  • Recreation — sport and play — archery
  • Figure group — male
Object Number
1985.66.435
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.435

Artwork Description

“I have seen a fair exhibition of their archery this day, in a favourite amusement which they call the ‘game of the arrow,’ where the young men who are the most distinguished in this exercise, assemble on the prairie at a little distance from the village, and having paid, each one, his ‘entrance-fee,’ such as a shield, a robe, a pipe, or other article, step forward in turn, shooting their arrows into the air, endeavouring to see who can get the greatest number flying in the air at one time, thrown from the same bow.” George Catlin probably made the initial sketches for this work in 1832 at a Mandan village. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 20, 1841; reprint 1973)