Smithsonian American Art Museum
Hee-láh-dee, Pure Fountain, Wife of The Smoke
George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA 1796-died Jersey City, NJ 1872 · 1832
George Catlin described Pure Fountain as a “young and very pretty woman . . . her neck and arms were curiously tattooed, which is a very frequent mode of ornamenting the body amongst this and some other tribes . . . done by pricking into the skin, gunpowder and vermilion.” He painted Pure Fountain at a Ponca village in 1832. (Catlin, Letters and Notes , vol. 1, no. 26, 1841; reprint 1973)
🔒
Order museum-quality prints
Sign in to order prints, canvas, and more of this work. Browsing and full-resolution downloads stay free.
