Bride and Groom on Horseback - Connibo 1854 - 1869

George Catlin made this painting, "Bride and Groom on Horseback - Connibo," with oil on cardboard, but when exactly? It's tough to say, as Catlin didn't always date his work. What we do know is that Catlin traveled through the American West in the 1830s, documenting the lives and customs of various Native American tribes. This image presents a posed representation of a wedding procession, a kind of "snapshot" of native life. While it aims for authenticity, we must question the politics of such imagery, especially considering the context of westward expansion and the displacement of native peoples. Catlin's work romanticizes Native American life, even as those lives were under threat. Understanding this artwork requires examining the social conditions of its time. Research into Catlin's journals, letters, and other historical documents can reveal his perspective, biases, and the broader cultural forces that shaped his work. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.