[Review of] Brian W. Dippie. George Catlin and his Contemporaries: The Politics of Patronage

Although Americans in the 1990\u27s often argue whether an artist\u27s or researcher\u27s work merits public funding, many agree that we should fund both the arts and scientific inquiry in nearly all their diverse forms. But the basic question of patronage remains. Federal and private funding of arts and science-related work were much in question over a hundred years ago, when the artist George Catlin requested that the United States government purchase his American Indian collection