Horse Race among the Blackfoot Indians, c. 1851-1856
Irish, Canadian, 1810 - 1871
oil on canvas
45.8 x 73.8 cm
Transfer from the Parliament of Canada, 1955
National Gallery of Canada (no. 6921)
Kane witnessed this event in June 1848 along the North Saskatchewan River
Paul Kane was one of several 19th-century painters who took an interest in Native customs, making numerous sketches to record the daily life of the Indigenous population as he travelled in the West in the 1840s. Bushes define the foreground and lead us further into the picture, where the elders gather by the teepees to watch the race.