Dubuque’s Grave, Upper Mississippi

George Catlin, Dubuque's Grave, Upper Mississippi, 1835-1836, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.330
Copied George Catlin, Dubuque's Grave, Upper Mississippi, 1835-1836, oil on canvas, 19 5⁄8 x 27 1⁄2 in. (49.7 x 70.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.330
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Dubuque’s Grave, Upper Mississippi
Artist
Date
1835-1836
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 5⁄8 x 27 1⁄2 in. (49.7 x 70.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Western
  • Landscape — river — Mississippi River
  • Monument — gravestone — Dubuque
Object Number
1985.66.330
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.330

Artwork Description

“Dubuque's Grave is a place of great notoriety on this river, in consequence of its having been the residence and mining place of the first lead mining pioneer of these regions, by the name of Dubuque, who held his title under a grant from the Mexican Government (I think), and settled by the side of this huge bluff, on the pinnacle of which he erected the tomb to receive his own body, and placed over it a cross with his own inscription on it . . . At the foot of this bluff, there is now an extensive smelting furnace, where vast quantities of lead are melted from the ores which are dug out of the hills in all directions about it.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 50, 1841; reprint 1973)