Four Dancers

George Catlin, Four Dancers, 1843-1844, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.386,439
Copied George Catlin, Four Dancers, 1843-1844, oil on canvas, 24 x 29 in. (60.9 x 73.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.386,439
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Four Dancers
Artist
Date
1843-1844
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
  • Figure group
  • Western
  • Ceremony — dance
  • Ceremony — Indian
Object Number
1985.66.386,439
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.386,439

Artwork Description

George Catlin’s Indian Gallery did well on tour in London and other British cities, but inevitably its novelty wore off. To rekindle interest, Catlin added a new attraction in 1844, of nine Ojibwe from Canada who danced, sang, and “scalped” enemies, to the delight of the crowd. Not everyone was charmed, however, and Charles Dickens dismissed the group as a “party of Indians squatting and spitting . . . or dancing their miserable jigs after their own dreary manner.”