Wee-tá-ra-shá-ro, Head Chief of the Tribe

George Catlin, Wee-tá-ra-shá-ro, Head Chief of the Tribe, 1834, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.55
Copied George Catlin, Wee-tá-ra-shá-ro, Head Chief of the Tribe, 1834, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.55
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Artwork Details

Title
Wee-tá-ra-shá-ro, Head Chief of the Tribe
Artist
Date
1834
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 — Wee Ta Ra Sha Ro — bust
  • Portrait male — Wee Ta Ra Sha Ro
  • Indian — Wichita
Object Number
1985.66.55
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.55

Artwork Description

“This man embraced Colonel Dodge and others of the dragoon officers in council, in his village, and otherwise treated them with great kindness, theirs being the first visit ever made to them by white people”. The subject was over ninety years old, according to George Catlin, and sat for his portrait at a Comanche village in 1834. (Catlin, 1848 Catalogue, Catlin’s Indian Gallery, SAAM online exhibition; Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)