Show f Sr sYi aly der in ta P 0 X PAL w ft row A L is J AM an or 01 T Tv vois saiM A 9 0 1 NL am erm 0 oil all as ri a 0 I 1 P top M W ar ak NY A tv elm T Z p ag ba huiess indians of the northern plains ba carl bodmer beom yale as pageant portrait of george C alfin T 4 the Famous explorer chief mah to toh pa ot the Mandan tribe farn callins own sketch emde abbat y 4 N r 4 J W ow 4 jah n mix 5 r iley A crovi hunting camp by ki de la at adry by ELMO SCOTT WATSON exene exhibitions ot of native dative art drawings paintings painting s and other examples of handicraft in various parts ot of the country have not only served to revive the interest ot of the people of the united states in the original inhabitants ot of this continent the north american indians but they 1 have also so served to recall the services of a group of men whose work deserves a better fate than the partial oblivion which chich has been theirs these thee are the early painters of the indians to whom we are indebted for most of our pictorial evidence about the red man while he was still comparatively untouched by the so called civilizing influences fluen ces of the white man foremost among the names ot of these artists Is that of george catlin and mention of him Is singularly appropriate at this time because it was just years ago that catlin had started on his work of recording the appearance r social life and customs of the tribes of the trans ills Sis sippi west catlin was born in wyoming pa ia in IWO 1780 and in accordance with his fathers wishes studied for the profession of law which he began practicing in philadelphia but being fond of excitement and adventure he found it difficult to stick to his business and he be devoted almost as much time to liis his avocation of drawing and painting in which lie he was vas self taught as he did to Ms his vocation of law one day in 1830 a party of indians from the far west who were on their way to a council with the great white father in washington stopped over in philadelphia catlin saw them on the streets and was so BO delighted with their fine forms and noble bearing that lie determined to give up his law practice and devote his life to making a collection of paintings of indians which would show after they were gone how they looked and how they lived the result was wag his arat journey to the indian country in 1832 and for the next eight years he devoted himself to the work lie ile traveled many thousands of miles by canoe and on horseback among tribes which were still as wild and untamed as they had been in pre columbian days and he be found plenty of excitement difficulty and danger in his work lie ile made paintings everywhere portraits of chiefs and warriors paintings of the scenery of the west of herds of buffalo of hunting life of indian games ceremonies social cu customs everything that would illustrate the life and country of the wild tribes of the west more than that he painted scenes of old trading posts and united states forts upon whose sites now dow stand important american cities so that even if lie he hid had not left in an invaluable record of the indian the historical value of this other oilier phase of his work would tie be treat great enough to place americans under a heavy beary debt of gratitude to him catlin not only painted hundreds of pictures but he be made a big collection of indian objects dress weapons Aen pons scalps objects used in games articles of clothing ornaments etc with all of these he be made a tour of the east exhibiting his collections in the larger cities and everywhere attracting large crowds it seems unfortunate that catlin could not have profited more from ills his work while he lived for in his old age lie he lost the fortune which he had bad built up became a bankrupt in fact until all be had left was ills his gallery of some TOO or more of his indian paintings these he would not sell but gave them to the smithsonian institution for safekeeping as an imperishable record of his life work and of a vanishing race some of them were destroyed or injured in a lire fire which swept the institution in january 1805 1865 but bot the 1 1 ac L an osage scalp dance remainder which are still preb ered in the smith conlan are arc valued at not less than which it if anything Is an considering I 1 si their importance catlin died in at the age of seventy six the same fate overtook most of the paintings of 0 another famous artist john mix mis stanley for the same fire in the smithsonian dest destroyed roved all but live fire of stanleys Stan leys collection of more than paintings which represented 10 sears bears of work among 43 different tribes on the southwestern prairies in fit new mexico california and oregon stanley was horn born in Canad algua N Y in 1811 and died in detroit the same year that s saw 1 I v the death of catlin 1872 at the age of fourteen he became an orphan and was apprenticed to a wagon maker in naples N N Y where rehe he spent his boy boyhood bood in 1834 he moved to detroit and the next year his latent ge genius rillis began to show itself in a series of portraits and landscapes in 1838 1833 36 3 lie he made his home in chicago and galena the famous lead mining center in illinois and at this time he be first became interested in indians making trips to fort snelling Sn minn to paint them from 1839 to 1842 he made his home again in the east and continued with his painting ills first important work among the indians was done in 1842 when lie he visited the indian country in arkansas and new mexico and made many pictures of indians and indian scenes the next nett year lie he was in what is now oklahoma painting among the cherokees Cherok ces the creeks and the delawarek Dela wares as well as some of the tribes in texas the bear ear 1845 i found him again in new mexico and by this time he had painted 83 canvases which he exhibited in cincinnati and louisville in may 1840 stanley returned to the west and painted the famous sac chief keokuk the wife of black hawk and other Do notables tables of that tribe talho in october of that hint acar car lie he visited santa F fe e to paint some more pictures but instead lie he joined the famous march of general kearney and his dragoons from santa fe to san diego taking part in several eng age merits which marked the phase of the mexican war that was fought in california going north the next year stanley found some more excitement aiN awaiting alting him for he narrowly escaped being in the whitman massacre when that famous missionary his wife and 11 others were killed by malcontents of the gahuse tribe ue he had another narrow escape from death a short time later when he returned to san francisco to take a certain still ship for the return to new york via cape horn ile he barely missed the ship before it sailed and it was lost at sea and never heard beard of again next stanley went to hawaii where lie he painted the portraits of the famous king kamehameha III and his queen ly john MX mix dwey fla which now hang la in the government museum formerly the royal palace in honolulu lIono lulu returning Ke turning to this country in IMO 1850 stanley exhibited his pictures in various eastern cities and in 1853 he was appointed artist to the expedition tion sent by the government to explore a route for a pacific railroad from st SL paul to puget sound before starting on this expedition lie ho deposited his collection of indian paintings in the smithsonian institution various attempts were made to have COD congress gress purchase the collection for the nation but nothing came of them the pictures remained the property of the artist so when all of them except five were ere destroyed in the janu january a ry I 1 SG fire in the smithsonian stanley suffered a great personal loss A list of early painters of the indians would not be complete without including in it the name of carl bodmer no diner a swiss artist who accompanied prince A maximilian of aled when that distinguished german scientist made ills his journey up the missouri in as bodmer not dot only left posterity a priceless heritage of indian portraits and pictures but he also like catlin made drawings of forts fur trading posts battle scenes etc which are invaluable historical records in the picture hy by bodmer which Is reproduced above are shown three typical warriors of the plains from left to right a missouri an oto and a ponca until a few years ago there was living in new york city another early painter of the indian whose work takes rank with that of the artists previously lilt mentioned lie was william de la montagne cary a new kew yorker who in with two companions made ills his way up the missouri river from st SL I auls and during the next 13 years put down on canvas scenes from the fast vanishing frontier which are among the most valuable records of life in those days which we have bare others who might be listed even it if lack of space prevents discussion of their contributions are capt skit seth eastman a teacher of drawing at the united states military academy at west point who saw service in the indian country and was chosen to illustrate historical and statistical information respecting the Ill history story condition and future prospects of the indian tribes of the alie united states issued by the government in 1850 carl wimar a german artist who lived among the indians for six months in 1807 1857 and some of whose bose paintings are preserved in his adopted city st louis F r 0 C Q darley the leading illustrator of books and magazine articles three quarters of a century ago and george deforest brush who is still living and whose studies of the indian have helped to establish the redskin in an important place in the art history of america C by western newspaper union |