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George Catlin
George Catlin, the
celebrated painter of Indian portraits, accompanied the expedition of
Henry Leavenworth, and painted a number of portraits and scenes from
Indian life in Oklahoma at the time.
George Catlin was born in
Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1796. He studied law, was
admitted to the bar and practiced for several years in his early
manhood. He had a marked taste for art, however, and in 1823, he
abandoned his law books for the career of a portrait
painter.
In 1829 he first began to
paint Indian portraits and scenes, and then formulated his plans for
the preservation of representative scenes and faces of aborginal life
of America, which he made his life work. He remained in the
Indian country almost constantly during the ensuing eight years.
In later years he devoted himself largely to lecturing on Indians and
Indian life, using his paintings to illustrate his
lectures.
In this work he traveled
not only over a large part of the United States, but also visited many
of the cities of Great Britain and Continental Europe. He died
at Jersey City, New Jersey, December 23, 1872.
Source: A
History of Oklahoma by Joseph B. Throburn and Isaac M.
Holcomb, Doub and Company San Francisco 1908.
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