We-chúsh-ta-dóo-ta, Red Man, a Distinguished Ball Player
1835
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Accession Number
1985.66.75
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
George Catlin painted two portraits of Sioux Indians with “ball-sticks” in hand while at Fort Snelling, near the juncture of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. He described his subjects as “the two most distinguished ball-players in the Sioux tribe” who came to his studio “in the dress in which they had just struggled in the play.” This full-length portrait captures Red Man’s athleticism and reflects his status as a tribal champion. Catlin worried about the fate that he feared lay in store fo...
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 ...