George Catlin, Wee-tá-ra-shá-ro, Head Chief of the Tribe, 1834, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.55
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Wee-tá-ra-shá-ro, Head Chief of the Tribe
- 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
- Portrait male — Wee Ta Ra Sha Ro — bust
- Portrait male — Wee Ta Ra Sha Ro
- Indian — Wichita
- Object Number
- 1985.66.55
Artwork Description
“This man embraced Colonel Dodge and others of the dragoon officers in council, in his village, and otherwise treated them with great kindness, theirs being the first visit ever made to them by white people”. The subject was over ninety years old, according to George Catlin, and sat for his portrait at a Comanche village in 1834. (Catlin, 1848 Catalogue, Catlin’s Indian Gallery, SAAM online exhibition; Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)
