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George Catlin, Buffalo Chase, Bulls Making Battle with Men and Horses, 1832-1833, oil on canvas, 24 x 29 in. (60.9 x 73.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.413
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Buffalo Chase, Bulls Making Battle with Men and Horses
- Artist
- Date
- 1832-1833
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 24 x 29 in. (60.9 x 73.7 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Figure group — male
- Western
- Animal — horse
- Indian
- Occupation — hunter
- Animal — buffalo
- Object Number
- 1985.66.413
Artwork Description
“The buffalo is a very timid animal, and shuns the vicinity of man with the keenest sagacity; yet, when overtaken, and harassed or wounded, turns upon its assailants with the utmost fury, who have only to seek safety in flight. In their desperate resistance the finest horses are often destroyed; but the Indian, with his superior sagacity and dexterity, generally finds some effective mode of escape.” George Catlin sketched this image on the Upper Missouri in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 31, 1841; reprint 1973)
Exhibitions
October 11, 2019–November 22, 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.