George Catlin, Ojibwe Spearing Salmon by Torchlight, 1846-1848, oil on canvas, 19 1⁄2 x 27 1⁄2 in. (49.6 x 69.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.575
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Ojibwe Spearing Salmon by Torchlight
- Artist
- Date
- 1846-1848
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 19 1⁄2 x 27 1⁄2 in. (49.6 x 69.9 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Figure group — male
- Landscape — time — night
- Landscape — river
- Western
- Recreation — sport and play — fishing
- Indian — Ojibwa
- Object Number
- 1985.66.575
Artwork Description
“I mentioned that the Chippeways [Ojibwe/Chippewa] living in the vicinity of the Sault, live entirely on fish; and it is almost literally true also, that the French and English, and Americans, who reside about there live on fish, which are caught in the greatest abundance in the rapids at that place, and are, perhaps, one of the greatest luxuries of the world.” George Catlin painted this work in Paris between 1846 and 1848. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 54, 1841; reprint 1973)
