Born in 1796 in Pennsylvania, George Catlin initially pursued a career in law, though his heart yearned for art. His life took a profound turn when he encountered a group of Native Americans passing through Philadelphia. Captivated by their culture and spirit, Catlin set out on a mission to preserve their way of life through his paintings.
Between 1830 and 1860, he visited over 150 tribes across the Americas, producing hundreds of paintings that provide an unparalleled glimpse into Native American life. His legacy lives on in major museums, including the Smithsonian, USA, where his art continues to inspire and educate.
Catlin’s dedication wasn't just to art but to humanity, documenting a culture he feared was disappearing. His work reminds us of the importance of understanding and preserving the diversity of the human experience. Through his passionate pursuit, he offers not only a historical record but a lesson in the vitality and health that comes from respecting and living in harmony with nature and culture.
BOOK QUOTES
- An Indian child is not allowed to sleep with its mouth open, from the very first sleep of its existence... the consequence of which is... form that healthful and pleasing regularity which has secured to the American Indians... perhaps the manliest and beautiful mouths in the world.
- These people, who talk little and sleep naturally, have no dentists nor toothpaste, nor do they require either; their teeth almost invariably rise from the gums and arrange themselves as regular as the keys of a piano.
- There is no animal in nature, excepting man, that sleeps with the mouth open. I believe the habit, which is not natural, is generally confined to civilized communities, where man is nurtured and raised amidst enervating luxuries and unnatural warmth.
BOOK QUOTES
- It is the suppression of saliva, with dryness of the mouth, and an unnatural current of cold air across the teeth and gums during the hours of sleep that produces malformation of the teeth and toothache, with premature decay, and loss of teeth, so lamentably prevalent in the civilized world.
- Man’s life (in a certain sense) may be said to ‘be in his own hands’. When awake, he is strong and able to keep out his enemies; but when he is asleep he is weak; and if the front door of his house is then left open, thieves and robbers are sure to walk in.
- The mouth of man... was made for the reception and mastication of food for the stomach... but the nostrils... stand guard over the lungs.
BOOK QUOTES
- I have seen some thousands of Indian women giving the breast to their infants, never saw an Indian mother withdrawing the nipple from the mouth of a young infant, without carefully closing its lips with her fingers.
- The proverb, as old and unchangeable as their hills, amongst the North American Indians, ‘My son, if you would be wise, open first your eyes, your ears next, and last of all, your mouth, that your words may be words of wisdom, and give no advantage to your opponent.’
- If I were to aim to pass on to all future generations, the most important motto which human language can convey, it should be in three words: SHUT YOUR MOUTH