Jú-ah-kís-gaw, Woman With Her Child in a Cradle

George Catlin, Jú-ah-kís-gaw, Woman With Her Child in a Cradle, 1835, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.186
Copied George Catlin, Jú-ah-kís-gaw, Woman With Her Child in a Cradle, 1835, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.186
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Artwork Details

Title
Jú-ah-kís-gaw, Woman With Her Child in a Cradle
Artist
Date
1835
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
  • Figure group — family — mother and child
  • Dress — Indian dress
  • Indian — Ojibwa
  • Portrait female — Ju Ah Kis Gaw — full length
  • Object — furniture — cradle
Object Number
1985.66.186
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.186

Artwork Description

George Catlin described this work as “the portrait of a Chippeway woman . . . with her child in its crib or cradle . . . [the umbilicus] hanging before the child's face for its supernatural protector . . . This woman's dress was mostly made of civilized manufactures, but curiously decorated and ornamented according to Indian taste.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 51, 1841; reprint 1973)