George Catlin (1796-1872) was a noted artist who was one of a very few who wished to record native American Indian life before it disappeared for ever. His Indian Gallery was exhibited around the country and the ‘North American Indian Portfolio’ first published in 1844 was an attempt to make the images available to a wider audience. He stated in the Preface that ‘The history and customs of such a people, preserved by pictorial illustrations, are themes worthy the lifetime of one man, and nothing short of the loss of my life shall prevent me from visiting their country and becoming their historian’. He planned to issue three such portfolios but the first extended his finances so much that it remained the only one published. ‘These beautiful scenes of Indian life are probably the most truthful ever presented to the public’ (Field). Catlin spent a total of eight years researching and painting forty-eight tribes. Abbey ‘Travel’ (1956) 653; Field (1973) 258; Howes (1962) C243; Sabin (1868-1936) 11532; Wagner-Camp (1982) 105a.