Edward S. Curtis Folk Art

hief Joseph by E.S. Curtis. Centennial edition goldtone 22/200. Negative date 1908, printed date 1999. Pie crust frame. 11" x 14", frame 16" x 19" Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce is s...

A Window into History: 1922 Portrait by Odile Bouligny This captivating black and white photograph, captured in 1922 by renowned French photographer Odile Bouligny, offers a glimpse into a bygone era. The image portrays a mother and daughter, both Navajo pottery...

Sepia photogravure titled "Kalispel Camp" depicting native figures in the foreground with kayak and teepee and rolling hills in the distance. The photogravure is titled lower left "K...

Sepia photogravure titled "Atsina War-Party" depicting Native Americans on their horses over-looking the grasslands in the distance. The photogravure is titled in plate lower left "A...

Sepia photogravure titled "Spotted Elk - Brule" depicting a portrait of Spotted Elk from the Brule tribe. The photogravure is titled lower left "Spotted Elk - Brule". Printed under t...

Presented is a fine photogravure portrait of an Ogalala woman by Edward Curtis. The image is Plate 94 from Supplementary Portfolio 3 of Edward Curtis' epic project The North American Indian. The caption provided by Curtis for this image is “A face so strong that it is almost masculine, showing strikingly how slight may be the difference between the male and female physiognomy in some Primitive people.” The photograph was taken in 1907 and the photogravure was published in 1908 by John Andrew & Son, in Boston. Edward S. Curtis created one of the most enduring and iconic visual records in the history of the photographic medium. He was an award-winning artist, a consummate craftsman, a visionary, an intrepid entrepreneur, and was highly regarded as a respected ethnographer and publisher. Curtis began photographing Native Americans in the mid-1890s and selling these images in his successful Downtown Seattle studio. One of his earliest models was Princess Angeline, the aged daughter of chief Sealth, the Suquamish Indian after whom Seattle is named. At the National Photographic Convention of 1899 Curtis was awarded the grand prize for three of his soft-focused, sepia-toned images of Puget Sound Native Americans: Evening on the Sound, The Clam Digger, and The Mussel Gatherer. Curtis spent the summer of 1900 with George Bird Grinnell observing the Sun Dance at an encampment of Blood, Blackfeet, and Algonquin in Montana. This was a pivotal experience for Curtis, confirming his desire to study and photograph the Native tribes of North America. A trip to visit the Hopi reservation in Arizona a few months later further fueled his enthusiasm. Curtis envisioned a plan to create a massive scholarly and artistic work that would document the tribes west of the Mississippi, their ceremonies, beliefs, daily life, and landscapes. In 1906, Curtis approached railroad tycoon J.P. Morgan to request financial assistance for his project. Morgan agreed to pay him a total of $75,000, or $15,000 a year for five years. Morgan and Curtis decided that Curtis' masterwork, The North American Indian, would be a set of 20 volumes of ethnographic text illustrated with high quality photoengravings taken from his glass plate negatives. Each of these volumes would be accompanied by a portfolio of large Size images, all sumptuously bound in Moroccan leather. The papers used for printing would also be of the best quality: a Dutch etching stock by Van Gelder, a Japanese vellum, and for the most discerning subscribers, a translucent Japanese tissue paper. To fund publication, Curtis would sell subscriptions at approximately $3,000 per set, with a total of 500 sets to be published. An ambitious and extensive project, Curtis spent much of his life documenting as many Native tribes as possible. The importance and the urgency of the task was clear to him, as he wrote in the introduction to his first volume of The North American Indians in 1907, "The information that is to be gathered . respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost." In 1930, some 24 years after his initial request for funding, the last two volumes, Vol. 19 and Vol. 20, were published and The North American Indian project was finally completed. Curtis took over 40,000 photographs and made over 10,000 wax cylinder...

Edward S Curtis (1868-1952) Title: Gambler Piegan Plate: 194 Portfolio: Volume 6 Printer: Proof print printed by John Andrew & Son Medium: Photograv...

Antique Edward S. Curtis Native American Print “Cowichan River” Signed C1912 Measures - 25 3/8" x 20" x 1/4"

Presented is a fine photogravure portrait of Bear’s Teeth of the Arikara tribe by Edward Curtis. The image is Plate 154 from Supplementary Portfolio 5 of Edward Curtis' epic project The North American Indian. The caption, written by Curtis, for this image is as follows: “A member of the Night order of the medicine fraternity.” This photogravure was published in 1908 and was printed by John Andrew & Son, in Boston. Edward S. Curtis created one of the most enduring and iconic visual records in the history of the photographic medium. He was an award-winning artist, a consummate craftsman, a visionary, an intrepid entrepreneur, and was highly regarded as a respected ethnographer and publisher. Curtis began photographing Native Americans in the mid-1890s and selling these images in his successful downtown Seattle studio. One of his earliest models was Princess Angeline, the aged daughter of chief Sealth, the Suquamish Indian after whom Seattle is named. At the National Photographic Convention of 1899 Curtis was awarded the grand prize for three of his soft-focused, sepia-toned images of Puget Sound Native Americans: Evening on the Sound, The Clam Digger, and The Mussel Gatherer. Curtis spent the summer of 1900 with George Bird Grinnell observing the Sun Dance at an encampment of Blood, Blackfeet, and Algonquin in Montana. This was a pivotal experience for Curtis, confirming his desire to study and photograph the Native tribes of North America. A trip to visit the Hopi reservation in Arizona a few months later further fueled his enthusiasm. Curtis envisioned a plan to create a massive scholarly and artistic work that would document the tribes west of the Mississippi, their ceremonies, beliefs, daily life, and landscapes. In 1906, Curtis approached railroad tycoon J.P. Morgan to request financial assistance for his project. Morgan agreed to pay him a total of $75,000, or $15,000 a year for five years. Morgan and Curtis decided that Curtis' masterwork, The North American Indian, would be a set of 20 volumes of ethnographic text illustrated with high quality photoengravings taken from his glass plate negatives. Each of these volumes would be accompanied by a portfolio of large size images, all sumptuously bound in Moroccan leather. The papers used for printing would also be of the best quality: a Dutch etching stock by Van Gelder, a Japanese vellum, and for the most discerning subscribers, a translucent Japanese tissue paper. To fund publication, Curtis would sell subscriptions at approximately $3,000 per set, with a total of 500 sets to be published. An ambitious and extensive project, Curtis spent much of his life documenting as many Native tribes as possible. The importance and the urgency of the task was clear to him, as he wrote in the introduction to his first volume of The North American Indians in 1907, "The information that is to be gathered ... respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost." In 1930, some 24 years after his initial request for funding, the last two volumes, Vol. 19 and Vol. 20, were published and The North American Indian project was finally completed. Curtis took over 40,000 photographs and made over 10,000 wax...

Edward S Curtis (1868-1952) Title: Shot in The Hand - Apsaroke Plate: 133 Portfolio: Volume IV Printer: John Andrew & Son Medium: Photogravure Date: 1908 Dimensions: Sheet: W 15 5/...

1906 Orotone photograph on glass plate. Signed in negative lower right. A beautiful example of Edward Sheriff Curtis's work, featuring muted colors and a stark silhouette of an Apach...

"The Love Song" gold tone photograph by Carl Moon - signed gold tone; 8" x 10". Taos - 1914 - the Indian's name is Geronimo Gomez. Published in "In Se...