Lot 254
Edward Sheriff Curtis (American, 1868-1952). "A Cahuilla Child" photogravure, copyright 1924. Titled with artist's name and copyright date below image, inside plate. From "The North American Indian (1907-1930) v.15, Southern California Shoshoneans. The Dieguenos. Plateau Shoshoneans. The Washo" (Seattle: E.S. Curtis ; Cambridge, Mass. : The University Press, 1926), facing page 30. A tender photogravure by Edward Sheriff Curtis, depicting a young Cahuilla child standing in the filtered light of a palm shelter, holding a wide-brimmed basket hat. The soft sepia tones and Curtis's careful use of shadow imbue the scene with intimacy, capturing both the individuality of the subject and the larger cultural traditions she represents. The quiet dignity of the child's posture, framed by woven palm fronds and everyday implements, reflects Curtis's dual aim of documenting Native life while presenting it in an aesthetic language akin to fine art portraiture. Size of photo: 6" W x 8" H (15.2 cm x 20.3 cm); of frame: 13" W x 15.5" H (33 cm x 39.4 cm)
This plate was published in "The North American Indian," Volume 15 (1926), devoted to the Indigenous peoples of Southern California and the Great Basin, including the Cahuilla, Shoshoneans, Dieguenos, and Washo. Produced with the collaboration of the University Press, the series stands as one of the most ambitious ethnographic and artistic projects of the early twentieth century, combining detailed cultural texts with photogravures of striking technical and emotional power.
To learn more about Curtis' impressive undertaking, please read Gilbert King's article in Smithsonian Magazine. It opens as follows, with King brilliantly capturing Curtis' urgency and steadfast work ethic to document the indigenous peoples before expansion would potentially eclipse their cultures, "Year after year, he packed his camera and supplies - everything he'd need for months - and traveled by foot and by horse deep into the Indian territories. At the beginning of the 20th century, Edward S. Curtis worked in the belief that he was in a desperate race against time to document, with film, sound and scholarship, the North American Indian before white expansion and the federal government destroyed what remained of their natives' way of life. For thirty years, with the backing of men like J. Pierpont Morgan and former president Theodore Roosevelt, but at great expense to his family life and his health, Curtis lived among dozens of native tribes, devoting his life to his calling until he produced a definitive and unparalleled work, The North American Indian. The New York Herald hailed as 'the most ambitious enterprise in publishing since the production of the King James Bible.'" ("Edward Curtis' Epic Project to Photograph Native Americans" by Gilbert King - Smithsonian Magazine March 21, 2012)
While Curtis has had his critics who have claimed that he romanticized the natives' existence, others have argued that he was ahead of his time and depicted them with dignity and respect. In her book entitled, "Shadow Catcher: The Life and Work of Edward S. Curtis" (Bison Books, 2005) Laurie Lawlor wrote, "When judged by the standards of his time, Curtis was far ahead of his contemporaries in sensitivity, tolerance and openness to Native American cultures and ways of thinking. He sought to observe and understand by going directly into the field."
Provenance: private Anahola, Hawaii, USA collection, acquired 1970s to 1990s
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#197942
- Condition: Mounted behind glass in custom matte and frame; has not been examined outside of glass. Some discoloring to photo, but, otherwise appears to be in excellent overall condition. Matte and frame also in excellent condition with suspension wire on verso for display.
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