Fur Traders Descending the Missouri

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Fur Traders Descending the Missouri
ArtistGeorge Caleb Bingham
Year1845; 179 years ago (1845)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions74 cm × 93 cm (29 in × 36.5 in)
LocationMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Fur Traders Descending the Missouri is an 1845 painting by

St. Louis, Missouri
on June 4, 1845, along with several other pieces of artwork.

It was painted around 1845 in the style called

Métis
ethnic group in Canada. The father's toque cap suggests that he is a voyageur of French descent. A black fox is in the front of the canoe, with pointed ears, long, sharp snout, and tongue. Black fox pelts were the most expensive, and therefore most desirable, furs of the time. Many Native American tribes regarded black foxes as spiritually symbolic creatures.

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