Elk and Buffalo Making Acquaintance, Texas

About this artwork

“One of the most remarkable characteristics of the buffalo, is the peculiar formation and expression of the eye, the ball of which is very large and white, and the iris jet black. The lids of the eye seem always to be strained quite open, and the ball rolling forward and down; so that a considerable part of the iris is hidden behind the lower lid, while the pure white of the eyeball glares out over it in an arch, in the shape of a moon at the end of its first quarter . . . I saw in the grass, ...

Art Historical Context

George Catlin's *Elk and Buffalo Makingaintance, Texas*1846-1848) captures a rare moment of wildlife interaction on the American frontier, showcasing the artist's keen eye for the natural world. A pioneering painter of the American West,lin traveled extensively among Plains tribes in the 183s, documenting Native American life and landscapes before rapid settlement altered them forever. This oil painting, now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, reflects his style—realistic yet evocative—blending scientific observation with dramatic narrative to immerse viewers in the untamed Texas plains. ...

About the Artist

George Catlin · 1796–1872

George Catlin (1796–1872), born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Putnam Catlin and Polly Sutton—who had been captured by Native Americans during the 1778 Battle of Wyoming—initially pursued a legal career. Trained at Litchfield Law School, he was admitted to the bar in 1819 but abandoned law after two years to study art in Philadelphia in 1823. Self-taught as a portraitist, Catlin quickly gained ...