Book Review Go West, George Catlin

Nancy Plain's non-fiction biography for young readers “Go West, George Catlin” is an inspiring testimonial to a painter, author, lawyer, and ethnographer, George Caitlin. He was an artist who specialized in painting Native Americans and recording their way of life not only in the United States but in South America and Asia as well. Plain beautifully captures Caitlin's journey west. Sentences are crisp, well-written, and informative. Her writing flows from page to page keeping the reader engaged.

Caitlin was a self-taught artist who had a dream and an all-consuming mission to paint the West and the people that made up the West so they would never be forgotten. He was the first great painter to travel beyond the Mississippi to record the lives of Native Americans through his paintings. This biography follows the hardships that stood in his way, the dangers of travel in the 1830s, and the barriers that often existed—and still do—between different cultures. The heart-wrenching facts stand glaring on the page about how whites made treaties and broke them when they wanted more land. Indians were losing the bitter fight to keep their homeland. 

Stunning reproductions of Catlin's work are interspersed within the text. By the decade's end, Caitlin came out of the wilderness with more than 500 portraits, scenes, and landscapes and accumulated an astonishing collection of Indian artifacts. The second part of his dream was to share his gallery with the world. His collection was exhibited in major American cities, and in 1839 he crossed the Atlantic to display his Indian Gallery in London and eventually Paris and Brussels as well. While touring with his Gallery, he fell so deeply into debt that he lost almost the entire collection. His compulsion to continue was so strong he repainted many of his pictures in his lost collection, using old sketches to guide him. He believed that his Indian Gallery was a national treasure, worthy of preservation by the United States government. Though he did not live to see his wish fulfilled, the original Indian Gallery came to the Smithsonian seven years after his death in 1872.

What a treasure this book is and a recommended resource that should be included in libraries and classrooms. The back of the book includes a helpful glossary. Suggested fiction and non-fiction books on the different Native American groups Catlin painted as well as museums to visit and view his work first hand are available to the reader.

ALL ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Nancy Plain is a four-time Spur Award winner from the Western Writers of America. Nancy’s biography of the cowboy artist, “Charlie Russell, Sagebrush and Paintbrush,” won a Spur Award for “Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction,” from the Western Writers of America in 2008. She has also received the following recognition: YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist, the National Outdoor Book Award, Booklist Editors’ Choice, the Nebraska Book Award, the Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History, the Will Rogers Medallion Award, the Carter G. Woodson Honor award, and First Place in Children’s Nonfiction from the National Federation of Press Women. Nancy has written ten histories and biographies for young people. She has written widely on American history topics, including biographies of the Cowboy Artist Charlie Russell, Chief Joseph, and The Nez Perce War, the pioneer photographer Solomon Butcher, and the bird artist John James Audubon. Visit Nancy at NancyPlain.com.