Artwork
Battle between the Jiccarilla Apachees and Camanchees
Battle between the Jiccarilla Apachees and Camanchees is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist George Catlin. It dates from 1865 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1865, this oil painting on card mounted to paperboard portrays a violent encounter between Apache and Comanche warriors.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1865, this oil painting on card mounted to paperboard portrays a violent encounter between Apache and Comanche warriors. The composition centers on two mounted fighters locked in close combat, their horses kicking up dust as swords flash and feathers are tossed. The work functions as a historical record, capturing a rare clash that few contemporary sources document.
Subject & Meaning
The scene illustrates a moment of intense personal combat between two Native American combatants, emphasizing the physicality and immediacy of frontier warfare. By focusing on individual action rather than a broader landscape, the artist highlights the bravery and skill of the warriors, while also providing visual testimony to intertribal conflict during the mid‑19th century.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on a card support affixed to paperboard, the painting employs a relatively flat, linear handling characteristic of Catlin’s earlier field sketches. The brushwork is brisk, rendering the dust clouds and motion of the horses with swift, gestural strokes, while the figures are delineated with clear outlines and limited tonal modeling.
History & Provenance
The artist, known for his extensive travels in the American West during the 1830s, based the composition on sketches made at the time of the encounter, though the final work was completed decades later. The painting entered the public record through early lithographic publications of Catlin’s images and has since been held in private collections before its recent acquisition by a regional museum.
Artist & collection
Artist
George Catlin ( KAT-lin; July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the American frontier.
Bulls Fighting
Expedition Encamped on a Texas Prairie. April 1686
An Alligator's Nest
Mrs. George Catlin (Clara Bartlet Gregory)
Chief of the Taensa Indians Receiving La Salle. March 20, 1682
A Small Village - Payaguas Indians
Omaha Chief, His Wife, and a Warrior
Father Hennepin Leaving the Mississippi to Join La Salle. May 8, 1680
