Artwork
Three Delaware Indians
Three Delaware Indians is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist George Catlin. It dates from 1865 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1865, *Three Delaware Indians* is an oil painting executed on card that has been mounted onto paperboard. The work is part of the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C., and exemplifies George Catlin’s later efforts to record individual Native American subjects.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents three members of the Delaware (Lenape) community standing in an open field beneath a blue sky.
The composition presents three members of the Delaware (Lenape) community standing in an open field beneath a blue sky. A woman on the left is wrapped in a white blanket edged in orange and marked with a sun motif; the central male figure wears a light‑colored coat and holds a long‑barreled firearm; the figure on the right dons a white coat, a feathered headdress, and grips a long staff. The grouping suggests a portrait of distinct persons rather than a narrative scene.
Technique & Style
Catlin applied oil pigments directly onto a stiff card support, a material choice common among itinerant artists of the mid‑nineteenth century. The handling is straightforward, with clear outlines and modest modeling, aligning the piece with American folk art traditions that prioritize direct representation over academic refinement.
History & Provenance
George Catlin, renowned for his extensive travels across the western frontier during the 1830s, produced a series of portraits documenting Indigenous peoples. Although painted decades after his field expeditions, this work reflects his continued interest in preserving visual records of Native American individuals. It entered the National Gallery of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the twentieth century, though specific purchase details remain limited.
Context
By the mid‑1860s, the Delaware people had been displaced from their ancestral lands in the eastern United States and were living in various western territories. Catlin’s depiction captures a moment of cultural continuity amid forced migration, offering a visual counterpoint to contemporary narratives that often omitted Indigenous presence.
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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