Ma-shée-na, Elk’s Horns, a Subchief

George Catlin, Ma-shée-na, Elk's Horns, a Subchief, 1830, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.242
Copied George Catlin, Ma-shée-na, Elk's Horns, a Subchief, 1830, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.242
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Artwork Details

Title
Ma-shée-na, Elk’s Horns, a Subchief
Artist
Date
1830
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
  • Portrait male — Elk’s Horn
  • Indian — Kickapoo
Object Number
1985.66.242
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.242

Artwork Description

George Catlin probably painted this portrait of Elk’s Horns, a member of the Kickapoo tribe, at Fort Leavenworth (in today’s Kansas) in 1830, the same year he took portraits of the Delaware, Kaskaskia, Peoria, and other tribes. Catlin’s efforts from 1830 are generally considered his first attempts at Indian portraits in the West. In his 1848 Catalogue, where he offered notes and descriptions of all the paintings in his Indian Gallery, Catlin described this portrait as “a Sub-Chief, in the act of prayer.” (Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)