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Wah-pe-séh-see, Mother of the Chief
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Wah-pe-séh-see was the mother of the Kaskaskia/Miami chief Kee-món-saw, or Little Chief (see 1985.66.246). George Catlin, who described her as “a very aged woman,” probably painted her portrait at Fort Leavenworth (in today’s Kansas) in 1830. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 47, 1841; reprint 1973)
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineWah-pe-séh-see, Mother of the Chief. 1830. George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA 1796-died Jersey City, NJ 1872. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.. CC0.
