Bird’s-eye View of the Mandan Village, 1800 Miles above St. Louis

George Catlin, Bird's-eye View of the Mandan Village, 1800 Miles above St. Louis, 1837-1839, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.502
George Catlin, Bird's-eye View of the Mandan Village, 1800 Miles above St. Louis, 1837-1839, oil on canvas, 24 1829 in. (61.273.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.502
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Bird’s-eye View of the Mandan Village, 1800 Miles above St. Louis
Date
1837-1839
Dimensions
24 1829 in. (61.273.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — hut
  • Indian — Mandan
  • Landscape — United States
  • Landscape — bird’s eye view
  • Figure group
Object Number
1985.66.502
Research Notes

Artwork Description

“I have this morning, perched myself upon the top of one of the earth-covered lodges . . . and having the whole village beneath and about me, with its sachems---its warriors---its dogs---and its horses in motion---its medicines (or mysteries) and scalp-poles waving over my head---its piquets---its green fields and prairies, and river in full view, with the din and bustle of the thrilling panorama that is about me. I shall be able, I hope, to give some sketches more to the life than I could have done from any effort of recollection . . . The groups of lodges around me present a very curious and pleasing appearance, resembling in shape (more nearly than anything else I can compare them to) so many potash-kettles inverted. On the tops of these are to be seen groups standing and reclining, whose wild and picturesque appearance it would be difficult to describe. Stern warriors, like statues, standing in dignified groups, wrapped in their painted robes, with their heads decked and plumed with quills of the war-eagle.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 12, 1841; reprint 1973)

Works by this artist (6 items)

Alan Goldfarb, Shake Your Booty, 1998, blown glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Renwick Acquisitions Fund, 1999.7
Shake Your Booty
Date1998
blown glass
On view
Alan Goldfarb, Venetian-Style Goblet (Red Wine Goblet), 1998, Venetian-style blown glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Kenneth R. Trapp in memory of Thomas Hume Slater, Jr., 1999.6.1
Venetian-Style Goblet (Red Wine Goblet)
Date1998
Venetian-style blown glass
On view
Alan Goldfarb, Forest Glass Beaker, 1998, medieval-style blown glass with applied raspberry prunts, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Kenneth R. Trapp in memory of Thomas Hume Slater, Jr., 1999.6.5
Forest Glass Beaker
Date1998
medieval-style blown glass with applied raspberry prunts
On view
Alan Goldfarb, Forest Glass Beaker, 1998, medieval-style blown glass with applied prunts, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Kenneth R. Trapp in memory of Thomas Hume Slater, Jr., 1999.6.4
Forest Glass Beaker
Date1998
medieval-style blown glass with applied prunts
On view

Exhibitions

Media - 1985.66.404 - SAAM-1985.66.404_1 - 9039
Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists
October 11, 2019March 13, 2020
Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists examines representations of buffalo and their integration into the lives of Native Americans on the Great Plains in the 1830s and in the twentieth century.

More Artworks from the Collection

Mark Matthews, Leopardus pardalis (Ocelot), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.11, © 1999, Mark Matthews
Leopardus pardalis (Ocelot)
Date1998
hot glass and Graal technique
On view
Mark Matthews, Neofelis nebulosa (Clouded Leopard), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.10, © 1999, Mark Matthews
Neofelis nebulosa (Clouded Leopard)
Date1998
hot glass and Graal technique
On view
Mark Matthews, Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.9, © 1999, Mark Matthews
Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah)
Date1998
hot glass and Graal technique
On view
Mark Matthews, Panthera onca (Jaguar), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.7, © 1999, Mark Matthews
Panthera onca (Jaguar)
Date1998
hot glass and Graal technique
On view