Butte de Mort, Sioux Burial Ground, Upper Missouri

George Catlin, Butte de Mort, Sioux Burial Ground, Upper Missouri, 1837-1839, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.475
Copied 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
  • Figure group — male
  • Western
  • Animal — horse
  • Landscape — cemetery
  • Landscape — river — Missouri River
  • Landscape — United States — Butte De Mort
Object Number
1985.66.475
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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)