Edward Curtis Mastering Photography
LiveAuctionTalk.com
Photo courtesy of Bonhams.
Some 70 years have passed and Edward Curtis and his sepia-toned photographs of Native Americans still speak without needing words. For Curtis he was certain he was capturing the last vestiges of a dying race. So, there is an urgency and immediacy about his pictures that defies description.
The good news is he was wrong about the race vanishing. There was resiliency among the Natives that would not be crushed.
“He brought to the world a rare glimpse into traditional Native culture never before captured on film.
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Curtis was a chronicler of their culture with his The North American Indian portfolio. His work includes 40,000 photos and 20 volumes of text each accompanied by a portfolio of plates. He was America’s most famous photographer for a time and died in 1952.
The photographer was a friend of Teddy Roosevelt’s and with the financial backing of J.P. Morgan he was able to do what he did. It was a 30-year effort he originally thought would take 10. He gave it his all and it shows.
He brought to the world a rare glimpse into traditional Native culture never before captured on film. As I witness these photos, I wish we knew who many of these Natives were. Their nearness to nature and spiritual essence speaks volumes.
“We should understand well that all things are the work of the Great Spirit. We should know He is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all four-legged animals, and the winged peoples; and even more important, we should understand all this deeply in our hearts,” said Black Elk, Oglala Sioux.
Like other photographers of his time Curtis paid fees to the Natives Americans he photographed. He is sometimes criticized for staging the scenes he captured. No question he romanticized his subjects.
A good example of this are pictures shot in 1907 where war party activity is shown and the Indians are pictured as forces in the universe. In reality, the Plains Indian Wars had ended and the Indians were already restricted on reservations. Few Native people actually lived the traditional ways of life when Curtis photographed them and recorded their stories.
Even so, as historical records, Curtis photographed plains people for whom few other visual records exist.
“They have grasped the idea that this is to be a permanent memorial of their race, and it appeals to their imagination. Word passes from tribe to tribe about it. A tribe I have studied lets another tribe know that after the present generation has passed away men will know from this record what they were like and what they did, and the second tribe does not want to be left out,” he said.
Curtis lived among dozens of Native tribes capturing the lives of more than 80 tribes.
On Oct. 4, 2021, Bonhams featured a selection of Curtis photos at auction.
Here are some current values.
The Vanishing Race; Orotone; Curtis Studio frame; 1904; signed; 11 inches by 14 inches; $7,650.
At the Old Well of Acoma; Orotone; Curtis Studio frame; signed; 8 inches by 10 inches; $8,288.
Chief of the Desert; Gelatin silver border print; Curtis Studio frame; signed; 10 inches by 8 inches; $8,925.
The Vanishing Race; Platinum print; Navaho; signed; 1904; 11 inches by 14 inches; $11,475.
Canon de Chelly; Orotone; Curtis Studio frame; signed; 1904; 11 inches by 14 inches; $22,812.
