Collection: Edward Curtis (1868-1952)

Edward Sheriff Curtis (Edward S. Curtis, E.S. Curtis) was born in Wisconsin in 1868. Following a relocation to Port Orchard, Washington in 1887, Curtis developed an interest in the Native American peoples living on the Seattle waterfront. He combined this interest with a love of photography and established himself as a professional photographer. He was the lead photographer on the 1899 Harriman expedition to Alaska. Edward S Curtis' magnum opus work is "The North American Indian Project." A thirty year endeavor, the project, which was started in 1900, documents over 80 Native American tribes living west of the Mississippi between Alaska and Mexico. The North American Indian consisted of 20 volumes, each with 75 hand-pressed photogravures and 300 pages of text. A corresponding portfolio was included with each volume which contained photogravures such as this one.