Clay Bluffs, Twenty Miles above the Mandans

George Catlin, Clay Bluffs, Twenty Miles above the Mandans, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.401
George Catlin, Clay Bluffs, Twenty Miles above the Mandans, 1832, oil on canvas, 11 1⁄4 x 14 1⁄2 in. (28.6 x 36.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.401
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Clay Bluffs, Twenty Miles above the Mandans
Artist
Date
1832
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
11 1⁄4 x 14 1⁄2 in. (28.6 x 36.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — plain
  • Western
  • Landscape — mountain
  • Landscape — river
Object Number
1985.66.401
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.401

Artwork Description

“These curious bluffs must be seen as they are in nature; or else in a painting, where their colours are faithfully given, or they lose their picturesque beauty, which consists in the variety of their vivid tints. The strata of clay are alternating from red to yellow---white---brown and dark blue; and so curiously arranged, as to form the most pleasing and singular effects.” George Catlin sketched this scene in 1832, during his long voyage on the Missouri River. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 10, 1841; reprint 1973)

Works by this artist (12 items)

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Joseph Dankowski, Untitled (wat supply), gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.362, © Joseph Dankowski
Untitled (wat supply)
Artist
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Joseph Dankowski, Untitled (Abstract Folds), gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.367, © Joseph Dankowski
Untitled (Abstract Folds)
Artist
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Joseph Dankowski, Untitled (water, paper, curb), gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.365, © Joseph Dankowski
Untitled (water, paper, curb)
Artist
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Joseph Dankowski, Untitled (water, curb), gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.364, © Joseph Dankowski
Untitled (water, curb)
Artist
gelatin silver print
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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Emily Clayton Bishop, Woman Shelling Peas, 1911, ceramic: clay/bisque fired, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Miss Beatrice Fenton and Miss Marjorie D. Martinet, 1976.127.2
Woman Shelling Peas
Artist
Date1911
ceramic: clay/bisque fired
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Robert Arneson, Ikaros, 1980, ceramic/glazed ware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1980.49.2
Ikaros
Artist
Date1980
ceramic/glazed ware
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Robert Arneson, Ikarus, 1980, glazed and glued ceramic mounted on wood, plywood base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1980.143
Ikarus
Artist
Date1980
glazed and glued ceramic mounted on wood, plywood base
Not on view
David Hare, Woman Dressing, 1950, ceramic/cut-out and fired on stone base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1976.53
Woman Dressing
Artist
Date1950
ceramic/cut-out and fired on stone base
On view