George Catlin, Butte de Mort, Sioux Burial Ground, Upper Missouri, 1837-1839, oil on canvas, 20 x 27 3⁄8 in. (50.9 x 69.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.475
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Butte de Mort, Sioux Burial Ground, Upper Missouri
- Artist
- Date
- 1837-1839
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 20 x 27 3⁄8 in. (50.9 x 69.4 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Indian — Teton Sioux
- Landscape — United States — Butte De Mort
- Landscape — river — Missouri River
- Landscape — cemetery
- Figure group — male
- Western
- Animal — horse
- Object Number
- 1985.66.475
Artwork Description
George Catlin probably sketched this image on his Missouri River voyage in 1832, but did not produce a finished painting for several years. In his 1848 Catalogue, Catlin noted that the French called this Sioux burial ground Butte de Mort, or “Hill of Death,” and that the Indians regarded the site “with great dread and superstition. There are several thousand buffalo and human skulls, perfectly bleached and curiously arranged about it.” (Catlin, 1848 Catalogue, Catlin’s Indian Gallery, SAAM online exhibition)
