Lot 41A
**First Time At Auction**
Edward Sheriff Curtis (American, 1868-1952). "Arapaho Water Girl" (1910) and "Ceremonial Preparation for Whaling" (1915) - two photogravures. Each have artist name printed with year beneath image and title printed at lower left. A captivating pair of photogravures demonstrating American photographer Edward Curtis' artistry as well as his ethnographic intent. "Arapaho Water Girl" presents a native woman be3nding over to gather water at the edge of a river, her head turned to address the viewer as her body is draped in layered, hand-made robes. Similarly, "Ceremonial Preparation for Whaling" depicts a native man at the water's edge, however, here he is dressed in ritualistic attire with a bare chest and elaborate plumage. Size of larger plate ("Ceremonial"): 5.25" W x 7.25" H (13.3 cm x 18.4 cm); of frame (both the same): 12.25" W x 15.25" H (31.1 cm x 38.7 cm)
Both portraits were part of Edward Curtis' epic 20 volume project to document Native Americans threatened by Westward expansion in the United States entitled "The North American Indian" (1907-1930) - a project that experts have estimated would cost more than $35 million to create today.
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."
Inscriptions below "Arapaho Water Girl": "Arapaho Water Girl" AND "From Copyright Photograph 1910 by E.S. Curtis."
Inscriptions below "Ceremonial Preparation for Whaling": "Ceremonial Preparations for Whaling" AND "From Copyright Photograph 1915 by E.S. Curtis."
Provenance: private Arlington, Virginia, USA collection
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#187212
- Condition: Each set behind glass in custom frame; neither has been examined outside of glass. "Arapaho Water Girl" has been cut from original page and mounted on board. Both have some staining to page, commensurate with age, but imagery and text are still clear. Some nicks to wooden frames that does not affect images. Suspension wire on verso for display.
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