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Buffalo Chase with Bows and Lances

Object Details

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Of Buffalo Chase, George Catlin wrote: “I have represented a party of Indians in chase of a herd, some of whom are pursuing with lance and others with bows and arrows. The group in the foreground shews the attitude at the instant after the arrow has been thrown and driven to the heart; the Indian at full speed, and the laso dragging behind his horse's heels . . . In running the buffaloes, or in time of war, the laso drags on the ground at the horse's feet, and sometimes several rods behind, so that if a man is dismounted, which is often the case, by the tripping or stumbling of the horse, he has the power of grasping to the laso, and by stubbornly holding on to it, of stopping and securing his horse.” George Catlin sketched this scene on the Upper Missouri in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 31, 1841; reprint 1973)
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Artist
George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA 1796-died Jersey City, NJ 1872
Date
1832-1833
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
24 x 29 in. (60.9 x 73.7 cm)
Type
Painting
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.
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