Shawano Indians

George Catlin

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows five people standing together in a grassy area. On the left, a man and a woman stand next to each other. On the right are two more men with two small boys visible between them. All of the people have tan skin and black hair. The children are naked, but the adults wear fabrics wrapped around them in shades of cream and light brown, with tan trousers underneath. The three men wear feathered headdress decorated with detailed, colorful designs over their black hair. They also wear jewelry, such as multiple strands of colorful beaded necklaces, hooped earrings, and silver arm bands. The two men on the right have elongated earlobes, and the man on the far right has three arrows sticking through the hole. He also holds a strand of beads in one hand and a thin branch in the other that appears to have a small flame on its top. The central man holds a long object with red fibers sticking out of it, and his bare torso is covered in thin, black, horizontal lines. The man on the left holds a rifle. The people stand on green grass, and the background features soft blue-and-pink skies. The scene is bordered by an oval frame surrounded by blank beige paper and a pale green border.