Edward Curtis lived from 1868 until 1952. He is best known for his iconic photographs of Native Americans. His travels took him to every nook and cranny of North America in search of Natives from as many tribes as possible.
A Qahatika Native American child photographed by Edward S. Curtis around 1907.
Apsaroke mother and child.
A child's lodge. A Piegan girl standing outside a small tipi. Photograph taken in 1910 by Edward S. Curtis.
"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," Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868–1952) wrote in the 1907 introduction to his first volume of The North American Indian. He began taking photographs as a teen and started traveling the West in 1898. Curtis devoted 30 years to photographing and documenting more than 80 tribes west of the Mississippi; when all was said and done, Curtis had taken in excess of 40,000 photos-all in natural light.
Upon its completion in 1930, the work, titled The North American Indian, consisted of 20 volumes, each containing 75 hand-pressed photogravures (intaglio printing with copper plates) and 300 pages of text. A corresponding portfolio containing at least 36 photogravures accompanied each volume. According to the Library of Congress, "The lavishly-illustrated volumes [with a foreword by Theodore Roosevelt] were printed on the finest paper and bound in expensive leather, making the price prohibitive for all but the most avid collectors and libraries. Subscriptions sold for about $3,000 in 1907; the price rose to about $4,200 by 1924."
Consequently, Curtis's project wasn't as successful as hoped. The Curtis Library at Northwestern University writes that the work was "set apart by its ambitious scale, and by the striking effect of its images, which are essentially contrived reconstructions rather than true documentation."
"Originally planned for five years, the complicated project was slowed by prohibitive expenses. Public reception was mixed. Less than half of 500 projected sets were printed. Scholars, while interested in staff notes on vocabulary and lore, were dubious of Curtis's methods of observation."
Nevertheless, The North American Indian-with its images of Native life, culture, housing, families, travel, art, and portraits of chiefs, braves, men, and women-continues to be one of the most influential volumes ever produced about the Native American way of life.
Since 1917, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West has been committed to the greatness and growth of the American West, keeping western experiences alive. The Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, weaves the varied threads of the western experience-history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms, and the nature and science of Yellowstone-into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center of the West has been honored with numerous awards, including the prestigious 2012 National Tour Association's Award for "favorite museum for groups," the 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, and, most recently, one of the "Top 10 Must See Western Museums" by True West magazine.
The Center is located in Cody, Wyoming.
