Om-pah-tón-ga, Big Elk, a Famous Warrior

George Catlin, Om-pah-tón-ga, Big Elk, a Famous Warrior, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.114
George Catlin, Om-pah-tón-ga, Big Elk, a Famous Warrior, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.114
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Artwork Details

Title
Om-pah-tón-ga, Big Elk, a Famous Warrior
Artist
Date
1832
Location
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
  • Dress — Indian dress
  • Dress — accessory — jewelry
  • Indian — Omaha
  • Portrait male — Big Elk — full length
  • Object — weapon — axe
Object Number
1985.66.114
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.114

Artwork Description

A warrior of the Omaha tribe, Big Elk sat for his portrait, according to George Catlin, “with his tomahawk in his hand, and face painted black, for war.” Catlin probably painted this image at Fort Leavenworth (in today’s Kansas) in 1832. Big Elk also sat for artist Charles Bird King (1785-1862) some years earlier in Washington. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 34, 1841; reprint 1973)

Works by this artist (33 items)

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William H. Jackson, Interior of a Hopi Dwelling, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1985.66.806
Interior of a Hopi Dwelling
Artist
Not on view
William H. Jackson, Yellowstone National Park, 1873-1879, photographs, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Library of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 1989.66.1.1-85
Yellowstone National Park
Artist
Date1873-1879
photographs
Not on view
Image Not Available
Summit of Pike’s Peak
Artist
Dateca.1880
albumen print, mounted on cardboard
Not on view
William H. Jackson, Grand Cañon of the Colorado, ca. 1880, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.85
Grand Cañon of the Colorado
Artist
Dateca. 1880
albumen silver print
Not on view

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photomechanical wood engraving on paper
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Mother and Sleeping Child
Artist
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photomechanical wood engraving on paper
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