George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA - Dying Buffalo-no. 17 - unknown - T-Shirt

This is a snowbound lithograph in which a bison bull lies dying while a hunter on snowshoes approaches with a spear, set against a herd on a hillside.

Visual Elements & Composition

The image is built in pale cream, off-white, sepia brown and charcoal, with the snow filling most of the frame. A sloping hill runs across the middle ground, and the wounded bull dominates the lower half, its body stretched out in the drifts. Bison calves lie low in the snow nearby, while the herd stands grouped on the rise behind them. The hunter sits small against the open ground, which keeps the eye on the animal's collapse. The palette is restrained, and the horizontal layout gives the scene a wide, quiet feel.

Meaning & Symbolism

George Catlin, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was among the first American painters to record the Plains and the Indigenous peoples who lived alongside the bison. He made his images through direct observation in the 1830s and 1840s, and this scene reflects that work. The bison sustained the nations of the Great Plains, so a dying animal in the snow carries the weight of a way of life under pressure. Catlin's picture is an early visual record of the hunt and of the herds that once covered the grasslands in enormous numbers.

Wearing a Piece of the Frontier

The composition is wide and horizontal, so it reads best across the chest, where the bull, the herd and the hunter can be seen together at a glance. Its monochrome tones suit a simple tee worn with almost anything, letting the scene stand on its own.