Elk Grazing on an Autumn Prairie
Social Media Share Tools
Object Details
- Artist
- George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA 1796-died Jersey City, NJ 1872
- Luce Center Label
- The numbers and variety of game on the Plains provided a varied diet for Catlin and the soldiers and traders who lived along the frontier. In 1835, Catlin returned from Fort Snelling to Prairie du Chien, this time by canoe, living principally on game during the trip. “My voyage from the mouth of the Teton River to this place has been the most rugged, yet the most delightful, of my whole Tour. Our canoe was generally landed at night on the point of some projecting barren sand-bar, where we straightened our limbs on our buffalo robes, secure from the annoyance of mosquitos, and out of the walks of Indians and grizzly bears. In addition to the opportunity which this descending Tour has afforded me, of visiting all the tribes of Indians on the river, and leisurely filling my portfolio with the beautiful scenery which its shores present---the sportsman's fever was roused and satisfied; the swan, ducks, geese, and pelicans---the deer, antelope, elk, and buffaloes, were ‘stretched’ by our rifles.” (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 32, 1841; reprint 1973)
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
- 1846-1848
- Object number
- 1985.66.598
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 20 1/8 x 27 3/8 in. (51.0 x 69.4 cm)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Figure group\male
- Western
- Landscape\plain
- Animal\deer
- Landscape\season\autumn
- Record ID
- saam_1985.66.598
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk71f8a8002-2699-445e-983c-855fe193f465
Related Content
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.