Pawnee Indians

George Catlin

National Gallery of Art

The image depicts six people, all facing the viewer. On the left, a woman sits on the ground. A naked child is partially visible behind her on the left, and in front of her she holds a younger child in a decorated carrier with a square handle. On the right are three men, one sitting and the other two standing. The seated man is in the center of the painting, and he holds a bow and two arrows. The next man on the right holds an axe or similar weapon, and the third man on the right also holds a bow and two arrows. All of the people have light brown skin, and the woman and children have black hair. The men have no visible hair, but instead appear to wear headdresses of long, thin red fibers or feathers that radiate outward from the backs of their heads. The seated man also has long horizontal feathers or fibers extending on either side of his head. The men and woman are all adorned with jewelry, including layers of colorful necklaces, silver bracelets, and several earrings in each ear. The woman wears a long-sleeved tan dress, while the men have fur-lined tan garments draped around their torsos and tan pants with colorful beads and fringe. Their garments are painted with scenes of people on horseback or colorful geometric patterns. The men also have tattoos on their arms and torsos. The seated man has red handprints on his upper arms, and the dark outlines of a bull's head on his chest and face. He has a hooped ring in his nose. The background shows a blue sky and grassy ground. The painting is framed in a gray oval border with tan paper beyond it and a green outer frame.