American Art Collaborative

Although George Catlin painted many bust-length portraits, this canvas is a rarer full-length figure. Catlin noted that Black Rock, a Western Sioux/Lakota who was highly respected by fur traders, was “a tall and fine looking man, of six feet or more in stature.” His long headdress is made of war-eagles' quills and ermine skins. His stance is regal, with a robe thrown over his shoulders and spear extended. To emphasize Black Rock’s nobility, Catlin borrowed a classical pose that he used frequently for important subjects. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 27, 1841, reprint 1973; Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979