ABSTRACT
My goal was to lend a hand to a dying nation, who had no historians or biographers of their own to portray with fidelity their primitive looks and history … thus snatching from a hasty oblivion … the memory of a truly lofty and noble race … I was the first artist to ever attempt this … and there was something inexpressibly delightful to be in the presence of such beautiful living models for my brush … I endeavored to also procure their costumes, cradles, lances, peace pipes, scalping knives, scalps, dresses, bows, quivers, shields, Eagle head-dresses, necklaces, moccasins, belts, tobacco sacks, whistles, rattles, drums, masks, weapons, skulls, cloths, robes and games, and to put these objects in a Gallery unique for use by the future ages. (George Catlin, 1841, 2–4, 296)
