George Catlin, River Bluffs, 1320 Miles above St. Louis, 1832, oil on canvas, 11 1⁄4 x 14 3⁄8 in. (28.5 x 36.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.399
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Artwork Details
- Title
- River Bluffs, 1320 Miles above St. Louis
- Artist
- Date
- 1832
- Location
- Dimensions
- 11 1⁄4 x 14 3⁄8 in. (28.5 x 36.6 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Figure male
- Landscape — river
- Western
- Indian
- Object Number
- 1985.66.399
Artwork Description
On his long river voyage of 1832, George Catlin painted dream-like views of sunlit bluffs on the upper Missouri that preserve a now-lost world. Indians had shaped this landscape by setting fires that curbed tree growth; when the Indians were gone, so were the “beautiful clear-cut outlines of these billowy slopes.”
