Week 2 - 2020
Photo credits: Edward Sheriff Curtis, Cheyenne Female Type, 1911, photogravure. Belongs to the Preus Museum's collection.
A man with a mission
The name Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) carries great weight within the history of photography. He started out as a portrait photographer in Seattle, but ended up devoting his life to the indigenous peoples of the United States - «the disappearing race» whom he wished to document before they were lost. Curtis and his team travelled great distances across parts of Northern America, and by journeys end they had produced around 40.000 photographs, over 10.000 audio recordings and a full-length movie. The book collection «The North American Indian» consists of 20 volumes - carrying 1506 illustrations and 4000 pages of ethnographic texts.
A selection of motifs were sold separately, produced by precision craftsmanship and the most precious techniques; such as photogravure, platinotype, and yellow tinted positives on glass. Some of these samples produced with these techniques are part of the Preus Museum’s Collection, but they are also currently on view in the exhibition «Edward Curtis - The Man, The Myth, The Legend».