Catlin, George (1796-1872)

US painter and explorer. His deep interest in the American Indians of the West led him to travel widely, recording pictorially the way of life and customs of the tribes of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains 1832-40. His style is factual, with close attention to detail.

Catlin produced an exhibition of over 500 paintings with which he toured America and Europe. His ‘Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians’ (1841) is among the most important of his published works. After Catlin's death, his collection of paintings and sketches was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Catlin briefly practised law before embarking on a career as a portrait painter.