Deep Lake, an Old Chief

George Catlin, Deep Lake, an Old Chief, 1831, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.264
Copied George Catlin, Deep Lake, an Old Chief, 1831, oil on canvas, 21 1816 12 in. (53.641.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.264
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Artwork Details

Title
Deep Lake, an Old Chief
Date
1831
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
21 1816 12 in. (53.641.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait male — Deep Lake
  • Indian — Seneca
Object Number
1985.66.264

Artwork Description

In 1830, Catlin accompanied William Clark, of the celebrated Lewis and Clark expedition, up the Mississippi River from St. Louis to Fort Crawford. Before he began more extensive travels in 1832, however, he spent time in eastern cities, where he often saw visiting delegations of Native Americans and was able to paint their portraits. In Washington, D.C., in January and February 1831, Catlin painted Menominee and Seneca delegations, including this portrait of the Ohio Seneca chief Deep Lake. The chief and other members of his tribe were in the capital to negotiate a treaty for the sale of their lands south of Lake Erie. By 1838, the Senecas’ removal from their remaining lands had been set out in the Treaty of Buffalo Creek, and the tribe was to remove to what is known today as Kansas. (Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979; Hoxie, ed., Encyclopedia of North American Indians, 1996)