Shé-de-ah, Wild Sage, a Wichita Woman

George Catlin, Shé-de-ah, Wild Sage, a Wichita Woman, 1834, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.59
Copied George Catlin, Shé-de-ah, Wild Sage, a Wichita Woman, 1834, oil on canvas, 2924 in. (73.760.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.59
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Artwork Details

Title
Shé-de-ah, Wild Sage, a Wichita Woman
Date
1834
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
2924 in. (73.760.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Indian — Wichita
  • Portrait female — Wild Sage — waist length
Object Number
1985.66.59

Artwork Description

George Catlin probably painted this portrait of Wild Sage at Fort Gibson, in present-day northeastern Oklahoma. Catlin noted that she was one of two young women who had been held prisoner by the Osages, and purchased and returned to her own tribe by the Indian commissioner. “Amongst the women of this tribe [Wichita], there were many that were exceedingly pretty in feature and in form; and also in expression, though their skins are very dark . . . [They] are always decently and comfortably clad, being covered generally with a gown or slip, that reaches from the chin quite down to the ankles, made of deer or elk skins.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 43, 1841; reprint 1973)