George Catlin, Scalp Dance, Sioux, 1845-1848, oil on canvas, 26 1⁄4 x 32 1⁄2 in. (66.6 x 82.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.438B
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Scalp Dance, Sioux
- Artist
- Date
- 1845-1848
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 26 1⁄4 x 32 1⁄2 in. (66.6 x 82.7 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Ceremony — dance — Scalp Dance
- Indian — Sioux
- Ceremony — Indian
- Western
- Figure group — male
- Object Number
- 1985.66.438B
Artwork Description
While he was in Europe, George Catlin received a commission to paint fifteen large canvases from King Louis Philippe of France, who had spent two years in the United States in the late 1790s. Inspired, perhaps, by the art he saw in French museums, Catlin produced the most carefully detailed and highly finished works of his career. Here, he turned a rough sketch from Fort Pierre in 1832 into a full-blown and dramatically lit spectacle.