FEBRUARY 16, 1912] 
tribution for the preparation and publication 
of a bibliography on fishes. The Duke of 
Bedford was elected a fellow for his gener- 
osity in presenting to the museum two fine 
examples of the Prjevalsky horse, a species 
which has hitherto been unrepresented in the 
collections. Mr. Anthony R. Kuser was 
elected a fellow in recognition of his offer to 
present to the museum a collection of pheas- 
ants of the world. Lieutenant George T. 
Emmons was made an honorary fellow in 
recognition of his services in furnishing in- 
formation in regard to the Indians of the 
Northwest Coast and in promoting field work 
in this region. Mr. George Bird Grinnell was 
elected an honorary fellow in recognition of 
his services in the development of the mu- 
seum’s department of anthropology. Sir 
Ernest Shackleton was elected a life member 
in recognition of his splendid achievements in 
the field of exploration, as well as for his gen- 
erosity in presenting to the museum a collec- 
tion of minerals from the south polar region. 
Dr. Leonard C. Sanford was made a life mem- 
ber in recognition of his generosity in placing 
his superb collection of birds of the world at 
the disposal of the curators of the museum for 
study and reference. 
CATLIN PAINTINGS 
George Catlin was the first great Indian 
painter and writer. He was born in Wilkes- 
barre, Pennsylvania, in 1796, was educated as 
a lawyer, but in 1823 gave up the profession 
for art, opening a studio in Philadelphia. A 
few years after he painted the famous portrait 
of Mrs. Madison and that of Governor De 
Witt Clinton, now hanging in the City Hall 
of New York. He early became a miniature 
painter, a collection of his works being in the 
hands of a private collector in Minnesota. 
Once a delegation of Indians passing through 
Philadelphia on the way to Washington so 
impressed Catlin that he planned to travel and 
paint the various wild tribes. Accordingly he 
set out and spent eight years, during which 
time he visited forty-eight different tribes, 
making portraits and sketches of scenes from 
daily life. Some years afterward he issued 
SCIENCE 
263 
a large illustrated work on the North Amer- 
ican Indians which is still one of our most 
important publications. Mr. Catlin died in 
New York City in 1872, leaving in the hands 
of his daughter, Miss Elizabeth W. Catlin, a 
large collection of paintings and sketches, 
which has just been acquired by the museum. 
This collection, comprising some 350 oil 
paintings, represents chiefly the tribes between 
the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains as 
observed during the years 1832 to 1840. Many 
of them are the originals for the plates in the 
author’s well-known books. Their historic 
value is very great, as they are the earliest 
authentic sketches representing the costume, 
ceremonies, habitations, ete., of the wild tribes. 
At the time Catlin visited these tribes they 
were practically uninfluenced by civilization. 
A well-known artist says: ‘“‘ This collection is 
by far the most interesting and complete in 
existence and for the Indian artist is inval- 
uable, the subjects represented covering the 
entire life, costumes, ceremonies, etc., at a 
time when Indian life was real, that is, before 
the transition period in Indian history. I 
have known Indians for forty years and have 
seen many who were very little influenced by 
contact with the white man and I can vouch 
for the truthfulness of these pictures. They 
are, outside of Bodmer’s and Captain East- 
man’s pictures, the only record we have of the 
Plains Indians and are valuable as a pictorial 
record. I want to speak of another view 
which the scientist does not appreciate. These 
Catlin pictures are the most decorative Indian 
pictures that have ever been painted. There 
is not a picture in the collection that I would 
not be proud to hang on my wall. They have 
a grand beauty of line composition, a great 
harmony of tone that makes them very valu- 
able as works of art. They have the scenic 
charm of a Japanese print.” 
Thus, Catlin may be considered the original 
Indian artist, the predecessor of Curtis, 
Schooleraft, McKenna and Hall and a host of 
lesser lights. For the museum, the collection 
will be especially valuable, since it gives us 
not only highly decorative canvasses, but 
illustrative series which may be installed 
