Ko-mán-i-kin, Big Wave, an Old and Distinguished Chief

George Catlin, Ko-mán-i-kin, Big Wave, an Old and Distinguished Chief, 1831, oil on canvas, 21 ¹⁄₈ x 16 ¹⁄₂ in. (53.7 x 41.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.228

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Artwork Details

Title: Ko-mán-i-kin, Big Wave, an Old and Distinguished Chief
Artist: George Catlin
Date: 1831
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 21 ¹⁄₈ x 16 ¹⁄₂ in. (53.7 x 41.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Portrait male — Big Wave
Indian — Menominee
Object Number: 1985.66.228
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.228

Artwork Description

“The Menomonies. Like the Winnebagoes, are the remnant of a much more numerous and independent tribe, but have been reduced and enervated by the use of whiskey and the ravages of the small-pox, and number at this time, something like three thousand, living chiefly on the banks of Fox River, and the Western shore of Green Bay. They visit Prairie du Chien, where their annuities are paid them; and they indulge in the bane [of alcohol].” George Catlin probably painted this work in Washington in1831. (Catlin, Letters and Notes , vol. 2, no. 52, 1841; reprint 1973)