Jan 12, 2007

At the Old Well of Acoma

At the Old Well of Acoma

1904

Edward S. Curtis

(American, 1868–1952)

Platinum print

Image: 32.3 x 41.6 cm (12 11/16 x 16 3/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)

Gift of Kathryn Arns May in memory of Mary Moore Arns 1987.183

Location

Description

Edward S. Curtis, an ambitious commercial photographer in Seattle, recorded the vestiges of what he conceived as a "vanished race." Over time he compiled The North American Indian, a 723-image survey of the customs, habitats, and dress of North American Indians. Curtis saw tribal life through a veil of cultural preconceptions that sometimes led him to introduce false costumes and artifacts into his so-called documentations. The mythic "Indians" that issued from these interventions were further removed from reality by the use of soft-focus lenses and retouching to add highlights or delete attributes that Curtis considered un-Indian. His haunting images of North American life might thus be considered within the framework of pictorialism, rather than of documentation.

See also

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.