Three Riccarree Indians 1861

This watercolor and graphite drawing, "Three Riccarree Indians," was created by George Catlin sometime before his death in 1872. Catlin’s choice of watercolor—a portable medium that allows for on-site work— speaks to his extensive travels in the American West. More than that, though, his work is defined by the implicit relationship between artist and subject: Catlin was there, recording Indigenous peoples who were being systematically dispossessed and, in some cases, exterminated, as a direct consequence of the logic of capitalist expansion. The very act of portraying these individuals, rendered through the labor of his hand, makes visible a complex dynamic. The work becomes more than just an aesthetic object; it's a loaded document reflecting social and political realities. It challenges us to reflect on the labor of representation, and its entanglement with social and political power.