Snowshoe Dance at the First Snowfall

George Catlin, Snowshoe Dance at the First Snowfall, 1835-1837, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.451
Copied George Catlin, Snowshoe Dance at the First Snowfall, 1835-1837, oil on canvas, 19 1⁄2 x 26 7⁄8 in. (49.5 x 68.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.451
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Snowshoe Dance at the First Snowfall
Artist
Date
1835-1837
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 1⁄2 x 26 7⁄8 in. (49.5 x 68.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Ceremony — dance — Snowshoe Dance
  • Indian — Ojibwa
  • Ceremony — Indian
  • Western
  • Figure group — male
Object Number
1985.66.451
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.451

Artwork Description

“The snow-shoe dance . . . is exceedingly picturesque, being danced with the snow shoes under the feet, at the falling of the first snow in the beginning of winter, when they sing a song of thanksgiving to the Great Spirit for sending them a return of snow, when they can run on their snow shoes in their valued hunts, and easily take the game for their food.” The details were probably sketched at Fort Snelling (in today’s Minnesota) in 1835, but George Catlin never saw the dance performed in winter. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 51, 1841, reprint 1973; Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)