George Catlin, Eeh-nís-kim, Crystal Stone, 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., 1985.66.150
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Eeh-nís-kim, Crystal Stone, Wife of the Chief
- Artist
- Date
- 1832
- 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 female — Crystal Stone — bust
- Portrait female — Crystal Stone
- Indian — Blackfoot
- Dress — Indian dress
- Object Number
- 1985.66.150
Artwork Description
“I have also placed upon my canvas [Crystal Stone]; her countenance is rather pleasing, which is an uncommon thing amongst the Blackfeet---her dress is made of skins, and being the youngest of a bevy of six or eight, and the last one taken under his [the chief's] guardianship, was smiled upon with great satisfaction.” Crystal Stone was the youngest wife of the Blackfoot chief Buffalo Bull’s Back Fat, the “apple of his eye” and “exempted . . . from the drudgeries of the camp.” George Catlin painted this work at Fort Union in the upper Midwest in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 5, 1841; reprint 1973)
