George Catlin ascends the Missouri River over…

George Catlin ascends the Missouri River over three thousand kilometers to Fort Union, where he spends several weeks in 1838 among indigenous people still relatively untouched by European civilization, although the devastating smallpox epidemic of 1837-38 has decimated many tribes.

He visits eighteen tribes, including the Pawnee, Omaha, and Ponca in the south and the Mandan, Cheyenne, Crow, Assiniboine, and Blackfeet to the north.

Here, at the edge of the frontier, he produces the most vivid and penetrating portraits of his career.

Later trips along the Arkansas, Red and Mississippi rivers, as well as visits to Florida and the Great Lakes, will result in over 5five huindred paintings and a substantial collection of artifacts.