Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sac Chief

George Catlin, Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sac Chief, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.2
Copied George Catlin, Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sac Chief, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.2
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sac Chief
Artist
Date
1832
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
  • Dress — Indian dress
  • Indian — Sauk and Fox
  • Portrait male — Black Hawk
  • Portrait male — Black Hawk — bust
Object Number
1985.66.2

Artwork Description

“When I painted this chief, he was dressed in a plain suit of buckskin, with strings of wampum in his ears and on his neck, and held in his hand, his medicine-bag, which was the skin of a black hawk, from which he had taken his name, and the tail of which made him a fan, which he was almost constantly using.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 56, 1841; reprint 1973)