Artwork
Buffalo Chase in the Snow Drifts - Ojibbeway
Buffalo Chase in the Snow Drifts - Ojibbeway 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.
About this work
George Catlin shows a stampede of bison crashing through deep snow. Their dark shapes stand out against the white ground. A lone rider on a horse races beside them, barely visible.
This wasn’t painted from life. Catlin saw it in 1832 but made the work years later, in 1861. He wanted to keep a record of disappearing Native ways.
Look up Catlin, George next.
Overview
George Catlin’s oil painting on card, mounted on paperboard, portrays a winter buffalo stampede on the Ojibwe trail. Dark silhouettes of bison surge across a deep snowfield, while a solitary rider on horseback follows the herd, almost swallowed by the white expanse. The work dates to the mid‑1860s and reflects Catlin’s long‑term project of recording Indigenous life.
Subject & Meaning
The scene captures a moment of Ojibwe hunting practice, emphasizing the relationship between the tribe, the horse, and the bison in a harsh winter environment. By depicting the chase in snow, Catlin highlights both the vitality of the hunt and the challenges posed by the northern climate.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on a small card support, the painting employs a limited palette of muted earth tones against stark white. Catlin’s brushwork renders the bison as solid, blocky forms, while the rider is suggested with minimal detail, creating a sense of motion through contrast rather than fine rendering.
History & Provenance
Catlin first witnessed a similar buffalo chase in 1832 during his travels among Great Lakes tribes, but he did not complete this composition until the 1860s, decades after the event. The work forms part of his extensive visual archive intended to preserve images of Native American customs that he feared were vanishing.
Context
Created during a period when westward expansion and forced relocation were dramatically reshaping Indigenous societies, the painting serves as a documentary record. It aligns with Catlin’s broader series of portraits and genre scenes that aimed to capture the diversity of tribal life across the American frontier.
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.
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