Fur Traders Descending the Missouri
Fur Traders Descending the Missouri | |
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Artist | George Caleb Bingham |
Year | 1845 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 74 cm × 93 cm (29 in × 36.5 in) |
Location | Metropolitan 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.