Indian Gallery

In 1830, George Catlin left Philadelphia with a goal of painting members of every Indian tribe in North America. He traveled the West in the United States and Canada, accompanying William Clark, fur traders, and others; sometimes he traveled alone. As he learned more about the people he was protraying, his respect for them grew, but he could see that enroaching settlements spelled an end to the Indian way of life. At least, he felt, his paintings would preserve a record of these cultures so people coming later would see what had been lost.