Native American Photography

Peace Medals

If you’re familiar with Edward Curtis’ project, “The North American Indian”, you may have seen vintage photographs of Native Americans wearing medals and adornments around their neck. Have you ever wondered about the significance of such metals? There is still some controversy over the use and impact of ‘peace metals’ in furthering diplomatic relationships between … More

Valley Fine Art Hosts Reception to Benefit the Curtis Legacy Foundation

Valley Fine Art Hosts Reception to Benefit the Curtis Legacy Foundation Opening reception February 14 & 15 from 5 to 9pm at the gallery Aspen is home to the most thorough collection of Edward S. Curtis photographs in the West. This unique and rare collection is a draw for collectors and historians alike. Mark your … More

Edward Curtis Goldtone

PRESS RELEASE- Edward S. Curtis Original Goldtone Photographs

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE This summer Valley Fine Art is presenting an exceptional collection of original goldtone photographs by master photographer and ethnographer of the North American Indian, Edward S. Curtis. The sixteen-piece collection is comprised of Curtis’ most iconic imagery—An Oasis In The Badlands, The Vanishing Race, A Son Of The Desert … More

Apache Medicine Man

Medicine Men in Native Societies

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 … More

Custer's Battlefield Map

The Battle of Little Bighorn and Edward S. Curtis

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 … More

Edward Curtis Volume VI

A Look inside of Edward S. Curtis’ Volume VI

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. … More

Wisham Fisherman

What is a Goldtone?

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 … More

Curtis Vintage Portfolio Images for Sale

Edward Curtis: Simplifying the Relevance

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 … More

Rare Edward Curtis Masterprints in Silver

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, … More

Edward S. Curtis: In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

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 … More

Edward S. Curtis, Andy Warhol, and Teddy Roosevelt?

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 … More

“Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis,” wins Carnegie Medal

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 … More

Thoughts to Edward S. Curtis from the Smithsonian – 1907

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 … More

Curtis Goldtone Photographs And Clients That Are Pure Gold

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 … More