Assiniboine Warrior in Regimental Clothing, 1832


Painting by George Catlin of an Assiniboine man named Wi-j̼n-jon or "Pigeon's Egg Head," in regimental clothing, 1832. Catlin first painted Wi-j̼n-jon as the he was en route to Washington; the painter recalled that he appeared for his portrait sitting "plumed and tinted [ ... ] dressed in his native costume, which was classic and exceedingly beautiful." Wi-j̼n-jon returned home to the northern Plains eighteen months later a decidedly different man -- dressed apparently in a "general's" uniform and sharing what to his fellow tribesmen were astonishing accounts of the white man's cities. They eventually rejected his stories as "ingenious fabrication of novelty and wonder," and his persistence in telling such "lies" eventually led to his murder. For Catlin's rendering of Wi-j̼n-jon in traditional clothing, see image BV9982. This painting resides in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.


Size: 1730px × 4200px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1800, 1800s, 1832, 19th, acculturate, acculturated, america, american, art, artwork, assimilate, assimilated, assimilation, assinboin, assiniboin, assiniboine, canvas, century, clothing, culture, egg, european, fashion, head, historic, historical, history, illustration, indian, indians, jon, jun, native, north, oil, painting, people, person, pigeon, plains, regimental, siouan, sioux, states, uniform, united, warrior, westernized, wi, wi-jun-jon, wi-̼-jon