Smithsonian American Art Museum
Magnificent Clay Bluffs, 1800 Miles above St. Louis
George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA 1796-died Jersey City, NJ 1872 · 1832
George Catlin was captivated by the landscape along the Missouri River, which was so different from his native Pennsylvania. He described this view of the naturally formed “domes” and “towers” as “one of the most grand and beautiful scenes of the kind to be met with in this country.” He supposed that the black line above the water was a vein of coal. (Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)
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