Certificates of Authenticity, between 1832 and 1836
Certificates of Authenticity for portraits Catlin painted from life, 1831–1832. George Catlin papers, 1821–1904, 1946. Deposited at the Archives of American Art 1981 by the Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution.
In 1828 George Catlin (1796–1872) began recording American Indian culture through his portraits and scenes from daily life, including buffalo hunts. To bankroll his life’s work, he traveled with his own exhibition to many American cities, London, and Paris. Never financially successful, Catlin was eventually rescued from debt by Joseph Harrison Jr., a wealthy American industrialist, who purchased the paintings, papers, and related artifacts in 1852. They were left neglected in a warehouse, but ultimately Harrison’s widow donated the entire collection to the Smithsonian Institution.
[Certificates of Authenticity], between 1832 and 1836. Appraisal : 1 p. ; 33 x 21 cm. George Catlin papers. Archives of American Art.
Ephemera
[Certificates of Authenticity], between 1832 and 1836. Appraisal : 1 p. ; 33 x 21 cm. George Catlin papers. Archives of American Art.
Ephemera
Forms Part of: George Catlin papers