“See-non-ty-a, an Iowa Medicine Man”
“See-non-ty-a, an Iowa Medicine Man” is an oil on canvas painting by the American portrait artist, George Catlin, from 1844 to 1845. This is one of the many portraits that Catlin made depicting Indigenous Americans in full dress.
Witnessing the treatment of the Native tribes by the United States government, in 1823, Catlin was prompted to quit his career in Philadelphia as a lawyer. He decided instead to document all that he could of the customs and dress of the native peoples in fear that their cultures would soon vanish.
Between 1832 and 1836, Catlin went on 5 expeditions into the Great Plains region, collecting indigenous American artifacts and creating his paintings. He covered a wide range of subjects. Catlin’s work included scenes of daily life activities, such as hunting, fishing, and village life. He also documented whatever religious ceremonies he was allowed to witness.
Many of his landscapes were from a bird’s eye view. These paintings are some of the earliest depictions of landscape scenes from that specific angle. Catlin’s most famous painting subjects, however, were his individual portraits of the people whom he had met on his travels.
Though Catlin tried to remain objective, he did take some artistic licenses at the time, some of which are controversial today. However, there is no doubt that Catlin helped shape and propagate the notion and perception of Indigenous Americans in both the eastern United States and Western Europe.
“See-non-ty-a, an Iowa Medicine Man” is currently in the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
For more on George Catlin, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
