Three Blackfoot Men 1855 - 1869

George Catlin made this painting of Three Blackfoot Men with oil on canvas. Unlike traditional Blackfoot art, which would typically involve materials sourced directly from the natural world, Catlin utilizes industrialized materials – pigments manufactured for their stable color, and canvas woven in a mill. The way Catlin deploys these materials is also telling. The smooth, almost idealized finish of the painting, and the oval format, reflect academic art practices of his time. But consider the circumstances: Catlin made a career traveling among Native American tribes, representing them to a largely ignorant white audience. What does it mean for him to represent Blackfoot men using the very materials and methods of the culture that was threatening their way of life? Does the painting honor its subjects, or unwittingly participate in their cultural erasure? Either way, the painting reminds us that all acts of making are deeply embedded in social and political realities.