Nishnabottana Bluffs, Upper Missouri

George Catlin, Nishnabottana Bluffs, Upper Missouri, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.402
Copied George Catlin, Nishnabottana Bluffs, Upper Missouri, 1832, oil on canvas, 11 1⁄4 x 14 3⁄8 in. (28.6 x 36.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.402
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Nishnabottana Bluffs, Upper Missouri
Artist
Date
1832
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
11 1⁄4 x 14 3⁄8 in. (28.6 x 36.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — mountain — Nishnabottana Bluffs
  • Landscape — river — Missouri River
  • Western
Object Number
1985.66.402
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.402

Artwork Description

George Catlin often adopted an aerial vantage point for his landscapes. During his Missouri River voyage of 1832, Catlin stretched out “in the grass on a favourite bluff” and envisioned the world from above: “I was lifted up upon an imaginary pair of wings, which . . . held me floating in the open air, from whence I could behold beneath me the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans---the great cities of the East, and the mighty rivers.”