On June 26, the Santa Fe Art Auction presented a two-session sale of Edward S. Curtis material from the Christopher Cardozo Collection. Not only did the materials realize more than $2 million, it sold more than 98 percent of its 316 lots.
The collection’s previous owner, Christopher Cardozo, was considered one of the great champions of Curtis’ photography, research and his famous book project, The North American Indian. Cardozo died suddenly in February during the initial planning stages of the sale, which he was looking forward to so he could pass on his materials to other collectors.
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), Geronimo - Apache, 1905, platinum print, 155/8 x 119/₁₆” Estimate: $120/180,000 SOLD: $120,000
“It was an absolutely terrific sale,” says Gillian Blitch, Santa Fe Art Auction’s president and CEO. “We couldn’t have hoped for a better sale. The only sad part was that Chris wasn’t there to see it.”
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), The North American Indian - Volumes I-XX, 1907-1930, complete volumes on India proof paper (‘tissue’) etching stock, 12½ x 9½” Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $895,000
To honor Cardozo and his appreciation of Curtis, the auction house hosted programming related to the materials in the sale. One aspect of the programming came to be after a chance encounter on social media.
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), A Walpi Man “Meator” (A Moki Chief), 1900, platinum print, 15¼ x 107/16” Estimate: $20/30,000 SOLD: $18,000
“One of the things Chris was very proud of was repatriating Edward Curtis photos to the descendants of his subjects. He would often say Curtis took pictures of 10,000 Native Americans so he was going to repatriate 10,000 portraits to their families. So, prior to the sale, we posted an image of A Walpi Man on Instagram and it caught the attention of artist Orlando Allison who identified the man as his great-great-grandfather,” Blitch says. “We reached out to Chris’ team and they created archival prints of the image from gold tones—just really beautiful reproductions—and they presented 12 of them to Orlando’s family. It was a fabulous moment.”
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), The Vanishing Race - Navaho, 1904, orotone on glass (goldtone), 14 x 17” Estimate: $12/18,000 SOLD: $24,000
The top lot from the sale was a full 20-volume set of books from Curtis’ The North American Indian. The sets were made up of 20 volumes and 20 portfolios, but the lot only contained the 20 text volumes. It had a high estimate of $250,000, but eventually sold for $895,000, a world record for a set of Curtis books without portfolios. For comparison, The North American Indian, all 20 volumes and 20 portfolios together, have sold for more than $2 million. “The book set was a huge surprise,” Blitch says. “It is an absolutely pristine set, just really beautiful, and bound in blue. It was set number 146.”
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), A Zuni Governor (Sat Sa), 1900, platinum print, 157/8 x 115/16” Estimate: $10/15,000 SOLD: $18,000
Other top lots were Curtis’ iconic image The Vanishing Race – Navaho (est. $12/18,000) that sold for $24,000, A Zuni Governor (Sat Sa, a Young Zuni Governor) (est. $10/15,000) that sold for $18,000 and a platinum print of Geronimo – Apache (est. $120/180,000) that sold for $120,000.
“It was our privilege to represent Chris in this sale and to bring his collection to market,” Blitch says. “We wanted to honor his legacy.”
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