Facsimile of an Omaha Robe

George Catlin

National Gallery of Art

This is a painting of a Native American ledger-style artwork featuring various symbols and a buffalo. The painting is created on a background resembling tanned animal hide, bordered in a soft greenish-gray. Within this frame, the central portion is filled with numerous rows of small, horizontal red lines across the upper half. Below these lines are symbols and geometric patterns, including rows of triangular motifs and concentric circles. On the lower half, there are detailed depictions of two ornate tipi structures with long poles extending from their apexes, adorned in bright orange and red designs. Between and behind the tipis, there is a large buffalo.