Shin-ga-wás-sa, Handsome Bird

George Catlin, Shin-ga-wás-sa, Handsome Bird, 1834, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.44
George Catlin, Shin-ga-wás-sa, Handsome Bird, 1834, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.44
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Artwork Details

Title
Shin-ga-wás-sa, Handsome Bird
Artist
Date
1834
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
  • Dress — Indian dress
  • Object — weapon — club
  • Object — weapon — bow and arrow
  • Portrait male — Handsome Bird — full length
  • Indian — Osage
Object Number
1985.66.44
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.44

Artwork Description

George Catlin described Handsome Bird, a member of the Osage/Wa-zha-zhe I-e tribe, as a “splendid-looking fellow, six feet eight inches high; with war-club and quiver.” In a different account about manners, customs and conditions, the artist described the war club as “another civilized refinement, with a blade of steel, of eight or ten inches in length, and set in a club, studded around and ornamented with some hundreds of brass nails.” Catlin painted this work at Fort Gibson (in present-day Oklahoma) in 1834. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 29, 1841, reprint 1973, and 1848 Catalogue, Catlin’s Indian Gallery, SAAM online exhibition)

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Thomas Moran, Fort George Island, Florida, 1878, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Neil M. Judd, 1970.73
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Artist
Date1878
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