Dance to the Medicine Bag of the Brave

George Catlin, Dance to the Medicine Bag of the Brave, 1835-1837, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.444
Copied George Catlin, Dance to the Medicine Bag of the Brave, 1835-1837, oil on canvas, 19 5⁄8 x 27 5⁄8 in. (49.7 x 70.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.444
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Dance to the Medicine Bag of the Brave
Artist
Date
1835-1837
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 5⁄8 x 27 5⁄8 in. (49.7 x 70.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Ceremony — dance
  • Ceremony — Indian
  • Indian — Sauk and Fox
  • Western
  • Figure group — male
Object Number
1985.66.444
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.444

Artwork Description

“This is a custom well worth recording, for the beautiful moral which is contained in it. In this plate is represented a party of Sac warriors who have returned victorious from battle, with scalps they have taken from their enemies, but having lost one of their party, they appear and dance in front of his wigwam, fifteen days in succession, about an hour on each day, when the widow hangs his medicine-bag on a green bush which she erects before her door, under which she sits and cries, whilst the warriors dance and brandish the scalps they have taken, and at the same time recount the deeds of bravery of their deceased comrade in arms, whilst they are throwing presents to the widow to heal her grief and afford her the means of a living.” George Catlin based this image on sketches he made at a Sac and Fox village in 1835. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 56, 1841; reprint 1973)