Beautiful Clay Bluffs, 1900 Miles above St. Louis

George Catlin, Beautiful Clay Bluffs, 1900 Miles above St. Louis, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.382
Copied George Catlin, Beautiful Clay Bluffs, 1900 Miles above St. Louis, 1832, oil on canvas, 11 1⁄4 x 14 3⁄8 in. (28.5 x 36.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.382
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Beautiful Clay Bluffs, 1900 Miles above St. Louis
Artist
Date
1832
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
11 1⁄4 x 14 3⁄8 in. (28.5 x 36.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Western
  • Landscape — plain
  • Landscape — United States
Object Number
1985.66.382
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.382

Artwork Description

“These curious bluffs must be seen as they are in nature; or else in a painting, where their colours are faithfully given, or they lose their picturesque beauty, which consists in the variety of their vivid tints. The strata of clay are alternating from red to yellow---white---brown and dark blue; and so curiously arranged, as to form the most pleasing and singular effects.” George Catlin painted this scene during a voyage along the Missouri River in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 10, 1841; reprint 1973)