Buffalo Hunt; A Numerous Group
1844
George Catlin was obsessed with documenting Native American life before it vanished, traveling thousands of miles to capture scenes exactly like this chaotic buffalo hunt. You can see the sheer adrenaline here: hunters are leaning off their galloping horses, firing arrows, and even standing upright on their mounts in a display of incredible horsemanship. In the foreground, a dramatic tangle of a fallen horse and a slain bison adds a gritty realism to the chase, while the herd stretches endlessly into the rolling hills behind them. Catlin created hundreds of these works to preserve a culture he feared was disappearing forever, making this a vivid snapshot of the American West in the 1840s.
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