Ball-play of the Women, Prairie du Chien

George Catlin, Ball-play of the Women, Prairie du Chien, 1835-1836, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.430
Copied George Catlin, Ball-play of the Women, Prairie du Chien, 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., 1985.66.430
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Ball-play of the Women, Prairie du Chien
Artist
Date
1835-1836
Location
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
  • Indian — Sioux
  • Landscape — Wisconsin — Prairie du Chien
  • Indian — Dakota
  • Recreation — sport and play — ball
  • Figure group — female
Object Number
1985.66.430
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.430

Artwork Description

George Catlin witnessed Choctaw lacrosse in Indian Territory in 1834, but a year later, at Prairie du Chien in today’s Wisconsin, Catlin saw and recorded the Eastern Sioux/Dakota version of ball-play. He later described the game: “In the ball-play of the women, they have two balls attached to the ends of a string, about a foot and a half long; and each woman has a short stick in each hand, on which she catches the string with the two balls, and throws them, endeavoring to force them over the goal of her own party.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 52, 1841, reprint 1973; Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)