George Catlin’s work has been featured at many different auctions and after encountering one you’d probably thought of its antique valuation. And if you were to get caught up buying antique art by famous American artists, and among the options to buy vintage paintings you missed out on Mr Catlin's creations – bad news, you’ve missed a piece made by an American adventurer, artist, traveller, lawyer and ethnographer!

He was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The subject of Indians of North America intrigued him since childhood, from the stories of his mother and grandmother, who during the Indian uprising were in their captivity and experienced firsthand the life and manners of the Indians, as they told George. After growing up, he studied law and practised law in his hometown for a time. Fascinated by painting, decided to become an artist and at age 25 moved to Philadelphia to study. After witnessing a delegation of Indians and painting their portraits, he realized this was the theme of his life.

Visiting St. Louis in 1830, he met William Clark, who held an official position of Indian liaison and obtained from him a free pass to travel on Indian reservations.

While travelling in North America he depicted scenes of life, and dances, painted portraits of both tribal leaders and common Indians, and landscapes of the places and animals that inhabited them.

^{George Catlin. The White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas. 1844-1845.Source: commoms.wikimedia}

For eight years of his travels, he gathered a significant collection of Indian life, clothing, and jewellery, and created a significant number of sketches and paintings. So, if you were up to buy antique oil paintings of Indians – it’s your sign! 

By the way, 10 years before the decision was made to create Yellowstone National Park, he proposed creating places where people, animals, and flora would live organically: "...where people and animals would coexist surrounded by the natural beauty of nature." Having studied, collected a collection of household items, made a huge number of sketches and paintings, and visited about 48 different Indian tribes, in New York, 1837 organized an exhibition of his paintings and for 2 years visited with it almost all cities in the eastern United States, where there were presented about 600 of his works. Without doubt antique dealers that buy antiques would get their hands on these!

J. Catlin decided to sell his collection and paintings to the state and made a proposal to Congress, but his proposal was received coldly and refused. With his collection, he went to Europe, where he was warmly received and received the fame he deserved. In 1845 his collection was exhibited in the Louvre itself. In 1841. In 1841 his book "The Mores of the Indians of North America" was published in England, which the artist illustrated with three hundred illustrations, and in 1848 his other book, "Notes on Eight Years of Travel" was published.

His success back then in Europe led him to propose his collection to the U.S. government, where he was again rejected. Because of debts, he was forced to sell off most of his collection. That’s the reason why nowadays you may encounter many pieces by Catlin among different dealers of antiques. Watch out because antique painting prices for those are ranging extremely wide!

In the end, George returned to Europe and settled in Paris. After the death of his wife, he moved to Brussels. Shortly before his death, he returned to the United States, where he passed in New Jersey.

^{Cover image: George Catlin. "Buffalo Hunt, Chase". 1844. Source: mutualart}