Comanche War Party, Mounted on Wild Horses

George Catlin, Comanche War Party, Mounted on Wild Horses, 1834-1837, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.496
Copied George Catlin, Comanche War Party, Mounted on Wild Horses, 1834-1837, oil on canvas, 19 5⁄8 x 27 1⁄2 in. (49.7 x 70.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.496
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Comanche War Party, Mounted on Wild Horses
Artist
Date
1834-1837
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 5⁄8 x 27 1⁄2 in. (49.7 x 70.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • State of being — evil — war
  • Indian — Comanche
  • Animal — horse
  • Figure group — male
Object Number
1985.66.496
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.496

Artwork Description

George Catlin’s descriptions of Native Americans reveal his respect for the tribes and nations that he feared would soon vanish. “Every one of these red sons of the forest (or rather of the prairie) is a knight and lord . . . the only things which he deems worthy of his exertions are to mount his snorting steed, with his bow and quiver slung, his arrow-shield upon his arm, and his long lance glistening in the war-parade . . .” George Catlin probably painted this work in his studio between 1835 and 1837. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 4, 1841, reprint 1973; Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)