Lot 3
3
EDWARD SHERIFF CURTIS (1858–1952)
On occasion, Christie's has a direct financial int… Read more
EDWARD SHERIFF CURTIS (1858–1952)

The Vanishing Race, 1904

Details
EDWARD SHERIFF CURTIS (1858–1952)
The Vanishing Race, 1904
platinum print on layered mount
embossed photographer's copyright credit and date (recto); signed in ink (tertiary mount, recto); titled in ink and variously annotated, numbered in pencil (tertiary mount, verso); titled on affixed '1915 San Francisco Fair' exhibition label (frame backing board)
image/sheet: 6 x 8 in. (15.2 x 20.2 cm.)
primary mount: 6 1/2 x 8 3/8 in. (16.5 x 21.2 cm.)
secondary mount: 7 x 9 in. (17.7 x 22.8 cm.)
tertiary mount: 10 x 12 in. (25.5 x 30.5 cm.)
Provenance
Christie's, New York, November 10, 1981, lot 63;
acquired from the above sale by the present owner.
Literature
Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian, 1907–1930, Portfolio I, pl. 1.
Joseph Epes Brown, The North American Indians, Aperture, New York, 1972, p. 95.
Christopher Cardozo (ed.), Native Nations: First Americans as seen by Edward S. Curtis, Callaways Editions, New York, 1993, p. 123.
Christopher Cardozo (ed.), Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2000, p. 188.
Exhibited
San Francisco, The Panama–Pacific International Exposition, 1915.
Special Notice
On occasion, Christie's has a direct financial interest in the outcome of the sale of certain lots consigned for sale. This will usually be where it has guaranteed to the Seller that whatever the outcome of the auction, the Seller will receive a minimum sale price for the work. This is known as a minimum price guarantee. This is such a lot.

Lot Essay

Edward C. Curtis has preserved for future generations an important era in American history and provided an opportunity to understand the Native American experience. Perhaps the most important legacy of Curtis's monumental accomplishment is the expression of an extraordinary and deeply felt sympathy with the personal and spiritual lives of the American Indian. In this respect, Edward S. Curtis stands alone among the photographers of Native Americans (Christopher Cardozo, Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2000, p. 25).

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