Ojibwe Spearing Salmon by Torchlight

George Catlin, Ojibwe Spearing Salmon by Torchlight, 1846-1848, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.575
Copied George Catlin, Ojibwe Spearing Salmon by Torchlight, 1846-1848, oil on canvas, 19 1227 12 in. (49.669.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.575
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Artwork Details

Title
Ojibwe Spearing Salmon by Torchlight
Date
1846-1848
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 1227 12 in. (49.669.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group — male
  • Landscape — time — night
  • Landscape — river
  • Western
  • Recreation — sport and play — fishing
  • Indian — Ojibwa
Object Number
1985.66.575

Artwork Description

“I mentioned that the Chippeways [Ojibwe/Chippewa] living in the vicinity of the Sault, live entirely on fish; and it is almost literally true also, that the French and English, and Americans, who reside about there live on fish, which are caught in the greatest abundance in the rapids at that place, and are, perhaps, one of the greatest luxuries of the world.” George Catlin painted this work in Paris between 1846 and 1848. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 54, 1841; reprint 1973)