Catlin was the first artist to record the Plains Indians in their own territories.
Paintings in the Indian Gallery reveal the encounter of two different cultures in a frontier region undergoing dramatic transformation.
Caitlin began displaying the Indian Gallery in eastern capitals and in Europe, an advocate for the Indian way of life, offering rare insight into native cultures and a crucial chapter in American history. Caitlin viewed his Indian Gallery as a way "to rescue from oblivion their primitive looks and customs."
