Wa-másh-ee-sheek, He Who Takes Away; Wa-chésh-uk, War; Mink-chésk, Three Distinguished Young Men

George Catlin, Wa-másh-ee-sheek, He Who Takes Away; Wa-chésh-uk, War; Mink-chésk, Three Distinguished Young Men, 1834, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.38-40
Copied George Catlin, Wa-másh-ee-sheek, He Who Takes Away; Wa-chésh-uk, War; Mink-chésk, Three Distinguished Young Men, 1834, oil on canvas, 2924 in. (73.760.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.38-40
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Artwork Details

Title
Wa-másh-ee-sheek, He Who Takes Away; Wa-chésh-uk, War; Mink-chésk, Three Distinguished Young Men
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
  • Portrait group
  • Dress — Indian dress
  • Indian — Osage
  • Object — weapon — axe
  • Portrait male — Wa-mash-ee-sheek — full length
  • Portrait male — Wa-chesh-uk — full length
  • Portrait male — Mink-chesk — full length
Object Number
1985.66.38-40

Artwork Description

George Catlin described these members of the Osage tribe as “uniformly dressed in skins of their own dressing---strictly maintaining their primitive looks and manners, without the slightest appearance of innovations, excepting in the blankets, which have been recently admitted to their use instead of the buffalo robes . . .” Catlin painted this group portrait at Fort Gibson (in present-day Oklahoma) in 1834. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 38, 1841; reprint 1973)