Sioux Indian Council, Chiefs in Profound Deliberation

George Catlin, Sioux Indian Council, Chiefs in Profound Deliberation, 1832-1837, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.495
Copied George Catlin, Sioux Indian Council, Chiefs in Profound Deliberation, 1832-1837, oil on canvas, 19 1227 12 in. (49.770.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.495
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Artwork Details

Title
Sioux Indian Council, Chiefs in Profound Deliberation
Date
1832-1837
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 1227 12 in. (49.770.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Ceremony — Indian — council
  • Indian — Sioux
  • Landscape — plain
  • Figure group
Object Number
1985.66.495

Artwork Description

“These people have no written laws, nor others, save the penalties affixed to certain crimes, by long-standing custom, or by the decisions of the chiefs in council, who form a sort of Court and Congress too, for the investigation of crimes, and transaction of the public business.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 58, 1841; reprint 1973)