George Catlin, (1796-1872), hand colored lithograph on paper, 26 x 19 1/4 inches (image), Private Collection, NM

Catlin was inspired to create Ojibwa Spearfishing Salmon by Torchlight in 1835 when observing an individual from the Ojibwa tribe hunting on a lake in the region around present day Minnesota, Wisconsin, and southern Canada. The artist originally captured the moment with a sketch and eventually used it ten years later to create the oil (Halpin, 19). Most likely, Ojibwa Spearfishing Salmon by Torchlight was painted from the original sketch of 1835, while in Europe, and was included in the 1848 updated version of "Catlin's Indian Gallery." According to William Truettner's book, The Natural Man Observed; A Study of Catlin's Indian Gallery, there are two versions of this painting. This painting is considered the 'Joslyn Art Museum' version; the painting was on loan to the museum from Northern Natural Gas Company when Truettner's book was published in 1979. Also, according to Truettner, this version was exhibited in London in 1859 and belonged to H. Williams, New York.

Literature:
A.T. Baker, "Chronicler of a Dying Race," Time, August 17, 1981. Marjorie Halpin, Catlin's Indian Gallery. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, 1965, Catlin number 575. William Truettner, The Natural Man Observed; A Study of Catlin's Indian Gallery. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979, illus. p.305, no. 576.

Provenance:
Private Collection
M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York
Northern Natural Gas Co., Omaha
(loaned to) Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha
Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, Los Angeles
{Alexander Gallery, New York}
Private Collection, New York
Private Collection, NM