DCSIMG
Há-tchoo-túc-knee, Snapping Turtle, a Half-breed by George Catlin / American Art
Larger Type
Smaller Type

Search Collections

Há-tchoo-túc-knee, Snapping Turtle, a Half-breed

1834 George Catlin Born: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 1796 Died: Jersey City, New Jersey 1872 oil on canvas 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr. 1985.66.296 Not currently on view



Like the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole, the Choctaw had interacted and intermarried with whites for centuries. These “Civilized Tribes” were farmers, plantation owners, and educated professionals. Snapping Turtle, also known as Peter Pitchlynn, was a graduate of the University of Nashville and George Catlin’s source for “much curious and valuable information, of the history and traditions of his tribe.” Catlin painted his portrait at Fort Gibson, Arkansas Territory, in 1834. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 49, 1841; reprint 1973)

For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.


Keywords

Ethnic - Indian - Choctaw

Portrait male - Snapping Turtle

painting

paint - oil

fabric - canvas

metal - aluminum - support added

About George Catlin

Born: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 1796 Died: Jersey City, New Jersey 1872

More works in the collection by
George Catlin

Hidden Treasures

Popular Links