Buffalo Cow, Grazing on the Prairie

George Catlin, Buffalo Cow, Grazing on the Prairie, 1832-1833, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.405
Copied George Catlin, Buffalo Cow, Grazing on the Prairie, 1832-1833, oil on canvas, 24 x 29 in. (60.9 x 73.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.405
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Buffalo Cow, Grazing on the Prairie
Artist
Date
1832-1833
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
24 x 29 in. (60.9 x 73.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — plain
  • Western
  • Animal — buffalo
Object Number
1985.66.405
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.405

Artwork Description

“The cow is less in stature [than the bull], and less ferocious . . . and always distinguishable by the peculiar shape of the horns, which are much smaller and more crooked, turning their points more in towards the centre of the forehead.” George Catlin made this sketch on the Upper Missouri in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, nos. 4, 31, 1841; reprint 1973)

Exhibitions

Media - 1985.66.404 - SAAM-1985.66.404_1 - 9039
Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists
October 11, 2019–March 13, 2020
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists examines representations of buffalo and their integration into the lives of Native Americans on the Great Plains in the 1830s and in the twentieth century.