CATLIN, George [1796-1872] -- American artist and author

He was fascinated from boyhood by Indians — perhaps sparked by his mother's stories of her captivity by the Iroquois at age seven. In 1823 he gave up a budding law practice and started painting. After seven years as a successful portraitist, he had the good fortune to meet William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, then Superintendent of Indian Affairs, who became his patron. In the years 1830-1836 Catlin made several excursions west and sketched, painted and recorded in his journal all aspects of contemporary Indian life. Although his works are today much prized for their realistic accuracy and historical value, and are proudly displayed by our most prestigious institutions, in his lifetime they - and he - were largely dismissed as worthless.