George Catlin, No-wáy-ke-súg-gah, He Who Strikes Two at Once, a Brave, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.119
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Artwork Details
- Title
- No-wáy-ke-súg-gah, He Who Strikes Two at Once, a Brave
- Artist
- Date
- 1832
- Location
- 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 male — He Who Strikes Two At Once — full length
- Indian — Oto
- Dress — Indian dress
- Recreation — leisure — smoking
- Object Number
- 1985.66.119
Artwork Description
George Catlin described this portrait as a “sketch quite unfinished; beautiful dress, trimmed with a profusion of scalp-locks and eagles' quills; pipe in his hand, and necklace of grisly bears' claws.” The degree of finish in this portrait perhaps represents what Catlin hoped to achieve in the single sitting he normally allowed his Indian subjects. The artist probably painted No-wáy-ke-súg-gah at Fort Leavenworth (in today’s Kansas) in 1832. (Catlin, 1848 Catalogue, Catlin’s Indian Gallery, SAAM online exhibition; Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)
