Eeh-nís-kim, Crystal Stone, Wife of the Chief

George Catlin, Eeh-nís-kim, Crystal Stone, Wife of the Chief, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.150
Copied George Catlin, Eeh-nís-kim, Crystal Stone, Wife of the Chief, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.150
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Eeh-nís-kim, Crystal Stone, Wife of the Chief
Artist
Date
1832
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
  • Portrait female — Crystal Stone — bust
  • Portrait female — Crystal Stone
  • Indian — Blackfoot
  • Dress — Indian dress
Object Number
1985.66.150
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.150

Artwork Description

“I have also placed upon my canvas [Crystal Stone]; her countenance is rather pleasing, which is an uncommon thing amongst the Blackfeet---her dress is made of skins, and being the youngest of a bevy of six or eight, and the last one taken under his [the chief's] guardianship, was smiled upon with great satisfaction.” Crystal Stone was the youngest wife of the Blackfoot chief Buffalo Bull’s Back Fat, the “apple of his eye” and “exempted . . . from the drudgeries of the camp.” George Catlin painted this work at Fort Union in the upper Midwest in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 5, 1841; reprint 1973)