Artist: George Catlin (1796 - 1872)
Nationality: American
Movement:
Media: Painting
Influences:

Biography:
George Catlin was an American painter and writer who specialized in depicting Native American life. He initially was employed as a lawyer but switched to art in the 1820's when he worked as a portraitist. In 1830, he began visiting Native American tribes. His paintings were better received in Europe than in the United States. Regardless, they never were commercially successful and Catlin went bankrupt in 1852.

Artworks in Museum Collections: (40)
Click the artwork titles below to see actual examples of artwork or works of art relevant to works by George Catlin.

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 1, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 219 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 218 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 217 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 216 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 51 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 1, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 215 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 52 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 1, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 234 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 53 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 1, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 54 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 1, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 214 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 213 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 212 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 55 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 1, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 220 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 221 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 233 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 232 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 231 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 230 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 229 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 228 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 227 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 50 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 1, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 226 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 225 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 224 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 223 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 222 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 211 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 210 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 196 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 195 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 194 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 193 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 192 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 191 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
George Catlin, Plate 190 in the book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians by George Catlin (London: the author, 1841),2nd ed., vol. 2, 1841

Artnews Articles and Exhibition Information: (7)
Click on any of the links below to read about artnews or exhibitions related to Catlin

Buffalo Bill Historical Center: John James Audubon in the West: The Last Expedition - Mammals of North America
Curator of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art Sarah Boehme explains, John James Audubon is associated with artistic images of birds, with conservation issues, and with geographic locations of the Deep South. He doesn't immediately spring to mind ...
Orlando Museum of Art: Lure of the West: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Later in the century, other artists such as Albert Bierstadt and Thomas ...
Joslyn Art Museum: Painters and the American West: The Anschutz Collection
Spanning nearly 150 years of American history, the exhibition is drawn from the distinguished collection of Philip Anschutz, who holds the most important assemblage of Western art in private hands. Included in the exhibition are notable works by t...
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art: Trailing Lewis and Clark, Featuring the Art of Ken Holder
Artist Ken Holder, inspired by Stephen Ambrose’s book, “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West,” traveled the trail of Lewis and Clark. He was excited by the thought of creating his own “voyage o...
Phillips Collection: Surrealism and Modernism from the Collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Notably, the Atheneum was the first museum in the world to purchase a painting by Salvador Dalí (1931) and the first American museum to acquire works by surrealist Joan Miró (1934), the Paris-born painter known as Balthus (1938), and American surr...
Smithsonian, National Museum of American Art and its Rewick Gallery: Treasures to Go!
`Storing treasures that attract more than half a million visitors each year was not an option the staff wanted to consider,` said Elizabeth Broun, director of the Smithsonians American Art Museum. Instead, in January the museum is laun...
Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens: Lure of the West: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
First explorers and trappers, then settlers and immigrants were drawn to the lands and opportunities for a new life in the American West, said Elizabeth Broun, director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Artists were quick to discover new...

Further Artwork and Information:

George Catlin Online
George Catlin
George Catlin
George Catlins Obsession
NGA Adventures with Art: George Catlin
Campfire stories with George Catlin : an encounter of two cultures
GEORGE CATLIN
www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?Request=A&Person=4950
North American Indians -by- George Catlin
Object at Hand - Portraits on the Plains

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