George Catlin, Non-on-dá-gon, a Chief, 1830, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.276
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Non-on-dá-gon, a Chief
- Artist
- Date
- 1830
- 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 male — Non On Da Gon
- Indian — Delaware
- Object Number
- 1985.66.276
Artwork Description
George Catlin probably took portraits of Delaware/Lenape chiefs Non-on-dá-gon and the Answer (see 1985.66.275) at Fort Leavenworth (in today’s Kansas) in 1830. Catlin wrote at length of these images: “Non-on-dá-gon, with a silver ring in his nose, is another of the chiefs of distinction, whose history I admired very much . . . In both of these . . . [portraits] their dresses were principally of stuffs of civilized manufacture; and their heads were bound with vari-coloured handkerchiefs or shawls, which were tastefully put on like a Turkish turban.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 47, 1841; reprint 1973)
