Catlin, George (1796-1872), was an American artist known for his paintings and drawings of Native Americans. His works rank among the most important studies of North American indigenous (native) culture.
Catlin was born on July 26, 1796, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He practiced law, but gave up that career in 1823 to become a portrait painter. Later, Catlin said he decided to portray Native Americans after seeing a group of them traveling to Washington, D.C. He wanted to paint Native American portraits and scenes of their customs to preserve their vanishing culture.
From 1830 to 1836, Catlin spent several summers among various Native American tribes. He painted portraits of Native Americans in St. Louis, along the Missouri River, in present-day Oklahoma, and in the Mississippi River region. By 1837, he had made almost 500 portraits and sketches and had gathered information from almost 50 tribes. He used these materials in an exhibition called “Catlin’s Indian Gallery,” which he took to major cities in the United States and Europe. From 1852 to 1857, Catlin traveled in South America and in North America west of the Rocky Mountains to paint Native Americans. Except for those years, he lived in Europe from 1840 to 1870. He died on Dec. 23, 1872.
