Curtis - "OPasis in the Badlands (Red Hawk, Oglala Sioux)" Orotone one color photograph or American Indian in headdress atop a white horse drinking water from a stream

Edward Sheriff Curtis • American 1868-1952

Oasis in the Badlands (Red Hawk, Oglala Sioux) • Orotone Photograph on Paper 10-1/2” x 13-1/2”

The Sun Dance of the Plains Indians was so powerful, it ended up costing Edward Curtis his business, fortune, family and mental health. When he agreed to accompany George Bird Grinnell, editor of Field and Stream Magazine, Curtis thought he was going on the kind of outdoor adventure he had enjoyed as a child when paddling a canoe through the Minnesota wilds with his father, an itinerant preacher. Now, as he sat beside Grinnell looking over the massive Indian gathering, Curtis was witnessing a sacred 4-day Indian celebration few white men had
ever seen.

Upon returning to his Seattle home, Curtis began planning a massive, 5 year project to record the traditional life of American Indians, before it disappeared. J. Pierpont Morgan provided the original financing, pledging $75,000 over the 5 years to cover expenses. The grant did not provide any income to Curtis who was about to embark on a project described by the New York Herald as “the most ambitious enterprise in publishing since production of the King James Bible.”

His mission was to create “the most beautiful set of books ever published,” according to J.P. Morgan. The North American Indian was to be 1,500 images bound into 20 volumes of books, printed on the finest paper and sold for over $2,500 per set (a huge sum in the early
20th century).

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24 years later, with funding long gone, all future profits pledged to creditors, his photographic business shuttered, one son dead of typhus, divorced from his wife and alienated from at least one of his remaining three daughters, Edward Sheriff Curtis’ dream lay in a heap of over 40,000 photographic prints and 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of Indian songs, music and speeches. By this time Curtis was in complete mental and physical collapse.

The only part of this story that lived up to the initial promise was the stunning quality of the 222 sets of books eventually published. Curtis did, indeed, record an ancient way of life before it completely disappeared. He died in 1952 and his short obituary ended with the words: “Mr. Curtis was also widely known as a photographer.”

The Indians who grew to trust him named him “Shadow Catcher.” Today all that remains of their traditional lives are the images reflected like shadows in the stunning prints of Edward Sheriff Curtis … photographer.

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Gift from the estate of Ruth Janet Waltenbaugh 2001.3

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“He never went to school past the sixth grade, yet built his own camera and became a photographic pioneer. Aren’t you glad you stayed in school”

2.
“After witnessing the 4-day Sun Dance in Montana, he set out to document the traditional life of Native American Indians in 20 magnificently bound volumes. The project took 24 years and cost him his fortune, business and family.”

3.
“When his wife won the rights to all his original negatives in their divorce, he copied and destroyed them. They did not remain friends.”

4.
“Trying to rebuild his career in Los Angeles, he became an assistant cameraman for Cecil B. DeMille. Sounds like the perfect way to recover from a grandiose project.”

Curtis Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.

1868

Born in Whitewater, Wisconsin. His father was a Civil War veteran who became an itinerant preacher. The family included three brothers and a sister. Curtis was raised in poverty and left school in the sixth grade. He was fascinated by photography and built his own camera.

1885

Became an apprentice photographer in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the family had moved while his father pursued his calling as an itinerant preacher.

1892

Married Clara J. Phillips. The couple eventually had four children.

1897

The family moved farther west to Seattle, Washington. Edward became a partner with Rasmus Rothi in a new photographic studio. He soon left to partner with friend Thomas Guptil. In 1895 he photographed the daughter of Chief Seattle, his first native American portrait.

1898

Three of his photographs, including two of Chief Seattle’s daughter, were chosen for an exhibition sponsored by the National Photographic Society.

1899

Invited by George Bird Grinnell, a noted expert on Native Americans, to accompany the Harriman Alaska Expedition. Edward met Grinnell the year before while photographing Mt. Ranier.

1900

Invited by Grinnell to join him on a journey to Montana to photograph the people of the Blackfoot Confederacy. They witnessed the 4-day Sun Dance during this trip.

1906

$75,000 from J.P. Morgan allowed Edward to begin work on The North American Indian. This was planned as a 5 year effort to photograph and document the traditional lives of Plains Indians. The plan was to produce a 20 volume set of beautifully bound books, including over 1,500 images.

1912

With work on The North American Indian falling behind schedule and his financial situation becoming dire, Edward decided to create a feature film depicting the everyday life of Native American Indians. He chose the Kwakiuti tribe of British Columbia as his subjects. In The Land of the Head-Hunters was an artistic success and financial failure.

1916

Clara and Edward divorced after several years of estrangement due to Edward’s frequent absences while working on The North American Indian. She received the Curtis Photographic Studio which she managed while Edward was away, and all his original negatives. Edward copied and destroyed the original negatives rather than allow Clara to have them.

1922

Edward moved to Los Angeles and opened a new photographic studio with his daughter Beth. He worked as an assistant cameraman for Cecil B. DeMille, including on The Ten Commandments.

1928

Desperate for cash he sold the total rights to The North American Indian to J.P. Morgan’s son. The final book in the set was completed n 1930. In total about 280 sets of books were sold. In 1935, Morgan sold the remaining unpublished material to Charles E. Lauriat Company for $1,000 plus a share of future royalties.

1952

Died of a heart attack while living at his daughter Beth’s home in Los Angeles.

1971

A major exhibition of Edward’s work was presented at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. This led to a revival of interest in the man and his work.

1972

The remaining materials from his opus project, The North American Indian, were found in the archives of the Charles E. Lauriat Company where they had remained untouched since 1935. These materials are now scattered among University Libraries and Museums.

1977

A complete set of The North American Indian sold at auction for $60,500.