Tchón-su-móns-ka, Sand Bar, Wife of the Trader François Chardon

George Catlin, Tchón-su-móns-ka, Sand Bar, Wife of the Trader François Chardon, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.89
Copied George Catlin, Tchón-su-móns-ka, Sand Bar, Wife of the Trader François Chardon, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.89
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Artwork Details

Title
Tchón-su-móns-ka, Sand Bar, Wife of the Trader François Chardon
Artist
Date
1832
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Indian — Dakota
  • Indian — Sioux
  • Portrait female — Sand Bar
  • Portrait female — Chardon, Francois, Mrs.
  • Portrait female — Sand Bar — bust
Object Number
1985.66.89
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.89

Artwork Description

George Catlin described Sand Bar as “very richly dressed, the upper part of her garment being almost literally covered with brass buttons; and her hair, which was inimitably beautiful and soft, and glossy as silk, fell over her shoulders in great profusion, and in beautiful waves, produced by the condition in which it is generally kept in braids, giving to it, when combed out, a waving form, adding much to its native appearance, which is invariably straight and graceless . . . This woman is at present the wife of a white man by the name of Chardon, a Frenchman, who has been many years in the employment of the American Fur Company, in the character of a Trader and Interpreter.” Catlin painted this portrait at Fort Pierre (in present-day South Dakota) in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes , vol. 1, no. 27, 1841; reprint 1973)