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George Catlin's life began on July 26, 1796 when he 

was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.   He was the 

fifth out of fourteen children.   His father was Putnam 

Catlin and his mother was Polly Sutton Catlin. 

As a child, his hobbies were hunting and fishing.  

He would also spend many hours walking through 

the woods and forests searching for Native 

American artifacts.

He would spend many nights listening to his mom 

reciting interesting stories.   He would hear many tales 

about the Western Frontier and how his mother at the 

age of seven, along with her mother, were captured   by 

the Iroquois, an Indian tribe. They were later released 

unharmed .

After studying law, as a young adult he briefly 

worked as a lawyer.   He was trying to follow in his 

father's footsteps as he was a Lawyer, but Catlin 

was extremely unhappy doing this job.

During his mid- twenties, he realized his strong 

passion for painting and decided this is what he 

wanted to do, so he taught himself to paint.

In 1830, he began his adventure up the Mississippi River with General 

William Clark into Native American country.   Catlin took this trip as 

he wanted to experience the Native American culture and capture it 

through his painting, he visited many tribes.

Over the next six years, he went back to the Native American country 

five times and was able to visit and paint many different scenes and 

people.   He managed to overcome and survive many fevers which   had 

claimed the lives of others traveling with him. 

In 1838, he put together an Indian Gallery consisting of his paintings, 

including American Indians, and artifacts that he had gathered from his 

many different adventures.   He also wrote books about his travels and 

how he socialized with the native people of North, Central and South 

America.

As Catlin wanted his artwork collection to remain in 

tact, it was his dream to sell his paintings to the US 

Government.   He was unsuccessful in trying to 

persuade the Government to purchase his paintings.

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