Abstract
In the 1830s, US artist and traveller George Catlin (1796–1872) amassed what he called an ‘Indian Gallery’, which he then toured in Europe as a means of publicizing the ‘American Indian plight’ as a so-called disappearing ‘race’. The gallery included his own paintings, material objects he had collected and, eventually, live performers, some of them from indigenous North American communities who took part in performing themselves in one of the first instances of what would morph later into very popular Wild West shows like those run by Buffalo Bill Cody. Whereas previous scholarship of Catlin's spectacles has focused on the participation of native performers, I will interrogate the visual displays in conjunction with the live performances to try to unlock the British and European nineteenth-century sensibilities and curiosities that would enable such shows to become popular. The essay also investigates ways in which Catlin's displays were loosely aligned with a ‘science’ of ethnography that entailed examination of both peoples and their objects.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
