The Buffalo Are Here: Reynolda House Presents "George Catlin's American Buffalo"

Back in the 1830s, George Catlin was among the first painters to chronicle the Indian chiefs of the American West, and the Great Plains buffalo upon which they and their tribes depended.

Although Catlin was underappreciated and plagued with debt throughout his adult life, he was a visionary whose 500 plus paintings did much to shape our perceptions of 19^th century Native American culture. The Reynolda House Museum of American Art exhibition is titled George Catlin's American Buffalo. 

George Catlin's American Buffalo opens this Friday, February 13^th. Several related programs and events are planned through May including Elizabeth's gallery talk on Thursday, February 19^th at noon, beadwork and bow and arrow making workshops, a Community Day: Pow Wow Cultural Festival on the Reynolda lawn, and much more. 

Curatorial and Education Division Director Elizabeth Chew explains the significance of the buffalo to Indians of the Great Plains and describes how Catlin manages to communicate expansiveness with smaller works of art.