Náw-káw, Wood, Former Chief of the Tribe

George Catlin, Náw-káw, Wood, Former Chief of the Tribe, 1828, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.209
Copied George Catlin, Náw-káw, Wood, Former Chief of the Tribe, 1828, oil on canvas, 18 1⁄2 x 14 in. (47.0 x 35.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.209
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Artwork Details

Title
Náw-káw, Wood, Former Chief of the Tribe
Artist
Date
1828
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
18 1⁄2 x 14 in. (47.0 x 35.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — Wood
  • Indian — Winnebago
Object Number
1985.66.209
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.209

Artwork Description

Before George Catlin began his extensive travels in the West, he spent time in eastern cities, where he often saw visiting delegations of Native Americans and painted their portraits. Nine members of a Winnebago delegation from present-day Wisconsin sat for him in Washington, D.C., in 1828, and among them was former Winnebago chief Náw-káw, or Wood. Catlin wrote that “this man has been much distinguished in his time, for his eloquence; and he desired me to paint him in the attitude of an orator, addressing his people.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 52, 1841; reprint 1973)