Téh-tóot-sah (better known as Tohausen, Little Bluff), First Chief

George Catlin, Téh-tóot-sah (better known as Tohausen, Little Bluff), First Chief, 1834, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.62
Copied George Catlin, Téh-tóot-sah (better known as Tohausen, Little Bluff), First Chief, 1834, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.62
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Artwork Details

Title
Téh-tóot-sah (better known as Tohausen, Little Bluff), First Chief
Artist
Date
1834
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 — Kiowa
  • Portrait male — Little Bluff — waist length
  • Portrait male — Teh Toot Sah — waist length
  • Portrait male — Tohausen — waist length
  • Occupation — other — chief
Object Number
1985.66.62
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.62

Artwork Description

Téh-tóot-sah, the head chief of the Kiowa, was described by George Catlin as “a very gentlemanly and high minded man, who treated the dragoons and officers with great kindness while in his country. His long hair, which was put up in several large clubs and ornamented with a great many silver broaches, extended quite down to his knees.” Catlin’s ability to see Indians as “gentlemanly and high minded,” when so many other white Americans saw them only as uncivilized, may reflect the strong influence of Enlightenment ideas in Philadelphia during Catlin’s youth. Catlin painted Téh-tóot-sah at a Comanche village in 1834. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 43, 1841; reprint 1973)