Ball-play of the Choctaw--Ball Up
1846-1850
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 65.4 × 81.4 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-135945
In 1834, George Catlin witnessed Choctaw lacrosse in Indian Territory near present-day Oklahoma, and was captivated by the game. He described ball-play as “a school for the painter or sculptor, equal to any of those which ever inspired the hand of the artist in the Olympian games or the Roman forum.” Lacrosse, which involved a no-holds-barred struggle for the ball, was a physical, even violent, g…
Provenance
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Registry history
- 1846-1850 — Recorded in the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum
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