An Apachee Village 1855 - 1869

"An Apachee Village" was painted by George Catlin using oil on canvas, a very traditional fine art material. Catlin employed a Western painting method to capture his image of an Apachee settlement. But look closely and consider the labor that went into constructing the dwellings depicted. These aren't just any tents, they're carefully crafted tipis made from animal hides stretched over wooden poles, a complex and time-consuming process. Notice the texture and color variations in the hides, hinting at the skill involved in tanning and preparing the materials. The painting acts as both a record of the settlement, and an artifact of Western expansion and settlement. By emphasizing these details, we can think about the painting not just as a picture, but as a document of cultural encounter, and, perhaps, a missed opportunity for cross-cultural understanding.