George Catlin, Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk, Wolf Chief, Head Chief of the Tribe, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.127
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk, Wolf Chief, Head Chief of the Tribe
- 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
- Indian — Mandan
- Portrait male — Wolf Chief
- Object Number
- 1985.66.127
Artwork Description
“This man is head-chief of the [Mandan] nation, and familiarly known by the name of ‘Chef de Loup’ as the French Traders call him; a haughty, austere, and overbearing man, respected and feared by his people rather than loved. The tenure by which this man holds his office, is that by which head-chiefs of most of the tribes claim, that of inheritance . . . The dress of this chief was one of great extravagance, and some beauty; manufactured of skins, and a great number of quills of the raven, forming his stylish head-dress.” George Catlin painted Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk at a Mandan village in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 13, 1841; reprint 1973)
