Hee-oh’ks-te-kin, Rabbit’s Skin Leggings

George Catlin, Hee-oh'ks-te-kin, Rabbit's Skin Leggings, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.145
Copied George Catlin, Hee-oh'ks-te-kin, Rabbit's Skin Leggings, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.145
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Artwork Details

Title
Hee-oh’ks-te-kin, Rabbit’s Skin Leggings
Artist
Date
1832
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — Rabbit’s Skin Leggings — bust
  • Indian — Nez Percé
  • Dress — Indian dress
Object Number
1985.66.145
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.145

Artwork Description

George Catlin probably painted this portrait of Hee-oh’ks-te-kin in St. Louis, or aboard the steamboat Yellowstone, in 1832. The dignified bearing of the young men and the attention to detail in the elaborately beaded tunics and beaded and feathered hair reflect Catlin’s regard for his subjects. Native Americans, he wrote, were “the finest models in all Nature, unmasked and moving in all their grace and beauty.” Catlin's faithful effort to document the life of these peoples in the early nineteenth century captures those impressive cultures as they were before their world was shattered. (Catlin’s Indian Gallery, SAAM online exhibition; Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)