Members Afternoon Preview: George Catlin: American Indian Portraits

This exhibition offers the opportunity to engage with one of the most important series of portraits of indigenous peoples ever made. Determined to record the “manners and customs” of American Indians, George Catlin, a lawyer turned painter, travelled thousands of miles from 1830 to 1836 visiting 50 tribes living west of the Mississippi River. The sitters in his portraits, their biographies, and the communities they represent are set against a background of current debates surrounding the Euro-American attitude toward other world cultures in this fascinating exhibition.

With the exception of a handful of works shown in England in the 1960s, George Catlin’s work has not been seen in the UK since he toured his Indian Gallery here in the 1840s. The exhibition’s emphasis is on Catlin’s work as it toured outside America, and will be the first to focus extensively on Catlin’s experiences in England. Just as it is in the US, Catlin’s work remains the single greatest influence on the artistic and popular conception of North American Indians in Great Britain and on the Continent.

Please bring your Membership card with you to ensure entry.
No need to RSVP for this event; Members are welcome to bring a guest.

www.npg.org.uk/membersevents