Ke-chím-qua, Big Bear

George Catlin, Ke-chím-qua, Big Bear, 1830, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.243
Copied George Catlin, Ke-chím-qua, Big Bear, 1830, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.243
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Artwork Details

Title
Ke-chím-qua, Big Bear
Artist
Date
1830
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Indian — Kickapoo
  • Portrait male — Big Bear
Object Number
1985.66.243
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.243

Artwork Description

George Catlin probably painted this portrait of Ke-chím-qua, a member of the Kickapoo tribe, at Fort Leavenworth (in today’s Kansas) in 1830, the same year he took portraits of the Delaware, Kaskaskia, Peoria, and other tribes. Catlin’s efforts from 1830 are generally considered his first attempts at Indian portraits in the West. In his 1848 Catalogue, where he offered notes and descriptions of all the paintings in his Indian Gallery, Catlin described Ke-chím-qua as having a “wampum on his neck, and red flag in his hand, the symbol of war or ‘blood.’” (Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)