Tís-se-wóo-na-tís, She Who Bathes Her Knees, Wife of the Chief

George Catlin, Tís-se-wóo-na-tís, She Who Bathes Her Knees, Wife of the Chief, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.144
Copied George Catlin, Tís-se-wóo-na-tís, She Who Bathes Her Knees, Wife of the Chief, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.144
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Artwork Details

Title
Tís-se-wóo-na-tís, She Who Bathes Her Knees, Wife of the Chief
Artist
Date
1832
Location
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 female — She Who Bathes Her Knees — bust
  • Indian — Cheyenne
  • Portrait female — She Who Bathes Her Knees
  • Dress — Indian dress
Object Number
1985.66.144
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.144

Artwork Description

George Catlin painted this image of Bathes Her Knees, wife of the Cheyenne chief Wolf on the Hill, in 1832 at Fort Pierre, in present-day South Dakota. Catlin described her as “comely, and beautifully dressed; her dress of the mountain-sheep skins, tastefully ornamented with quills and beads, and her hair plaited in large braids, that hung down on her breast.” Catlin depicted Bathes Her Knees in an elegant dress of mountain-sheep skins embroidered with both quills and beads in the geometric designs favored by the Cheyenne. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 32, 1841; reprint 1973)