A Moki Beauty - Edward Curtis - U.S.

Edward Sheriff Curtis (born February 16, 1868 in Cold Spring, Wisconsin; died October 19, 1952 in Whittier, California) was an American photographer who spent 30 years of his life portraying the customs and practices of North American Indians.

Edward S. Curtis sought to photographically depict what he considered the fading way of life and the traditions of numerous Indian tribes. In the process, around 40,000 photographs of about 80 tribes were created. In addition, 10,000 language and music recordings as well as numerous biographies. For almost three decades he traveled across North America. In his photographs, Curtis often tried to present the Indians the way he imagined them, without the elements of Euro-American culture. As a child of his time, he fell prey to romantic notions of a disappearing culture and lost sight of the adaptive dynamics and the tenacity with which those photographed clung to their culture.

A print produced for the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles is offered. The image shows a photo of a Moki Indian woman and was taken in 1904.

The image is 25 cm wide and 40 cm high. The frame is 45.5 cm wide and 61 cm high.