Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk, Wolf Chief, Head Chief of the Tribe

George Catlin, Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk, Wolf Chief, Head Chief of the Tribe, 1832, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.127
Copied George Catlin, Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk, Wolf Chief, Head Chief of the Tribe, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.127
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Artwork Details

Title
Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk, Wolf Chief, Head Chief of the Tribe
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 male — Wolf Chief
  • Indian — Mandan
Object Number
1985.66.127
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.127

Artwork Description

“This man is head-chief of the [Mandan] nation, and familiarly known by the name of ‘Chef de Loup’ as the French Traders call him; a haughty, austere, and overbearing man, respected and feared by his people rather than loved. The tenure by which this man holds his office, is that by which head-chiefs of most of the tribes claim, that of inheritance . . . The dress of this chief was one of great extravagance, and some beauty; manufactured of skins, and a great number of quills of the raven, forming his stylish head-dress.” George Catlin painted Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk at a Mandan village in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 13, 1841; reprint 1973)