Though it differs throughout tribes, there are many similarities in Native American Medicine. The primary function of most medicine men is to secure the help of the spirits. Sometimes this help may be sought to heal illness, psyche, or to promote harmony between people or nature. Medicine men are not necessarily doctors or herbalists in […]
The epic battle of Little Bighorn took place in 1876 and remains shrouded in controversy to this day. Warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes clashed with men of the 7th Regiment of the US Cavalry led by the famous and well-loved General Custer. The battle was a bloody display of the […]
With the support of President Roosevelt and the financial backing of J.P Morgan, Edward Curtis was able to produce a photo-ethnographic study that was (and still is to this day) widely regarded as the finest set of limited- edition books ever made in America. The North American Indian consists of twenty volumes and twenty portfolio sets. […]
Known as one of Edward Curtis’ favorite medium, he describes the medium beautifully: “The ordinary photographic print, however good, lacks depth and transparency, or more strictly speaking, translucency. We all know how beautiful are the stones and pebbles in the limpid brook of the forest where the water absorbs the blue of the sky and […]
When I think of the Plains Indian Photographs of Edward Curtis, the first images that typically come to mind are of his striking Native American portraiture. But, his images contain so much more than just faces. I find the scenery of the American West that he captures in conjunction with the Natives helps deepen the […]
Edward S Curtis art is focused on Native Americans from the United States. Edward S. Curtis’ iconic photograph of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce introduced America to a brave chief who led his people during a time of great upheaval for Native Americans. Initially, there was a tenuous peace between the Nez Perce and the […]
Since the 1970’s Edward Curtis’ iconic images have surfaced from a whole variety of places: libraries, family heirlooms, undocumented museum collections, pawn shops, discovered in the basements of old houses, etc. And, since the 70’s, the artist’s work has consistently gone up in value to collectors. But why is Curtis so relevant? What really makes […]
Valley Fine Art presents two of Edward S. Curtis’ most seminal photographs, Canon De Chelly and An Oasis in the Badlands, both traditional gelatin silver prints. Both images were, in fact, included in Curtis’ magnum opus, The North American Indian: Canon De Chelly is Plate 28, photographed in 1904 and An Oasis in the Badlands, […]
Valley Fine Art in Aspen—a gallery specializing in the work of Edward S. Curtis—gives thanks this November, a time in which we also celebrate Native American Heritage Month. We appreciate and recognize artists who have dedicated their talent and their lives to visual storytelling, and few have created an ethnographic legacy like Edward Curtis with […]
Edward S. Curtis and Andy Warhol are both artists with a connection to Theodore Roosevelt: Curtis for his friendship, and Warhol for his iconic “Old American West” imagery. Edward S. Curtis—his photographs of Native Americans, his portraits that honored Indian cultures— moved Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. Roosevelt and Edward S. Curtis shared a passion and a […]
By Mary Ann Gwinn, Seattle Times, July 1st, 2013 SEATTLE AUTHOR TIMOTHY EGAN WINS CARNEGIE MEDAL Seattle author Timothy Egan has racked up another major award. Sunday night in Chicago, Egan picked up the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, given by the American Library Association for “the best of the best […]
EXTRACT FROM LETTER FROM MR. HOLMES, CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D.C. “Your idea is a grand one – the preservation for the far future of an adequate record of the physical types of one of the four races of men, a race fast losing its typical characters and soon […]
Hello everyone: One of the best things about owning a gallery is getting to know your clients and seeing their passion about the art first-hand. Sometimes the best relationships start with a simple email like the one I received from a gentleman in Germany asking about various vintage Edward S. Curtis pieces. To get a […]