George Catlin, Mrs. Putnam Catlin (Mary "Polly" Sutton), 1825, watercolor on ivory, sight 3 1⁄8 x 2 5⁄8 in. (8.0 x 6.7 cm) rectangle, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1939.2.1
Free to use
Copied
Artwork Details
- Title
- Mrs. Putnam Catlin (Mary “Polly” Sutton)
- Artist
- Date
- 1825
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- sight 3 1⁄8 x 2 5⁄8 in. (8.0 x 6.7 cm) rectangle
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- watercolor on ivory
- Subjects
- Portrait female — Catlin, Putnam, Mrs. — bust
- Portrait female — Sutton, Polly — bust
- Object Number
- 1939.2.1
Artwork Description
In 1778, Catlin’s mother, Polly Sutton, and grandmother were captured by Indians at the surrender of Forty Fort, a stronghold built on a bluff above the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. There, the Battle of Wyoming had been fought against the combined forces of the British and Indians. Polly Sutton’s stories entranced her son George, and inspired his interest in Native American culture, as did visits to the Catlin home by various soldiers and explorers during the artist’s youth.
