Hól-te-mál-te-téz-te-néek-ee, Sam Perryman (Creek Chief) - George Catlin

A portrait of Creek Chief Sam Perryman by George Catlin, painted in 1834 during the artist's travels through the American West.

This portrait depicts Hól-te-mál-te-téz-te-néek-ee, also known as Sam Perryman, a leader of the Creek Nation. George Catlin painted this work during his travels through the American West in 1834. The subject is shown in a three-quarter view, wearing a blue patterned garment adorned with a light-coloured shawl and distinctive silver ear ornaments. His head is covered by a patterned turban, reflecting the cultural synthesis of the period.

Catlin utilised a fluid, painterly technique, particularly visible in the treatment of the fabric and the soft, atmospheric background. The brushwork is expressive, capturing the texture of the clothing and the specific details of the subject's attire with directness. The palette consists of cool blues contrasted against warm, earthy tones in the shawl and the sitter's skin. The lighting is soft, focusing attention on the face of the chief while allowing the rest of the figure to recede into the composition.

As an artist, Catlin aimed to document the appearance and customs of Indigenous peoples of North America. This portrait is part of his extensive collection of works created to record these cultures before the rapid changes brought by westward expansion. The painting provides a specific historical record of an individual leader, presented with a sense of personal dignity. The work remains in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where it is preserved as part of the artist's larger project to document the diversity of tribal life in the nineteenth century.