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Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sac Chief

  • George Catlin, Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sac Chief, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.2

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“When I painted this chief, he was dressed in a plain suit of buckskin, with strings of wampum in his ears and on his neck, and held in his hand, his medicine-bag, which was the skin of a black hawk, from which he had taken his name, and the tail of which made him a fan, which he was almost constantly using.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 56, 1841; reprint 1973)

Title
Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sac Chief
Artist
George Catlin
Date
1832
On View
  1. Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
  2. on view
Dimensions
29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm)
Copyright
Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

Mediums
oil
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Painting
Keywords
  • Portrait male – Black Hawk – bust
  • Portrait male – Black Hawk
  • Dress – ethnic – Indian dress
Object Number
1985.66.2
Palette
Linked Open Data URI

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