[Hongs-káy-dee (Great Chief)], eldest son of [Shoo-de-ga-cha (The Smoke)], Chief of the Ponca Nation

Artists

Dimensions

41.9 × 29.8 cm (16 1/2 × 11 3/4 in.) frame: 59.6 × 47.6 × 9.9 cm (23 7/16 × 18 3/4 × 3 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Probably the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. [1] to David I. Bushnell, Jr. in exchange for a wampum necklace and a wristlet, August 1918; to his mother, Belle J. Bushnell; her bequest to Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 1946 (added to accession 41-72), transferred; to Harvard Art Museums, 2024 Notes [1] The works were in Catlin's studio/living quarters at the Smithsonian Institution (in the turret of the "Castle" building) at the time of his death. As his wife and several children predeceased him, and because the Smithsonian had the works on hand when several years later, the family that held the contents of his original "Indian Gallery" gifted those to create the definitive Catlin collection, and there is no record of a sale, probated will, transfer, or auction between the family and the Smithsonian, it seems most likely the Smithsonian claimed his studio contents as its property.