Steamboat Art Museum presents a thrilling exhibition of five historic Western photographers: Roland Reed, Edward S. Curtis, A.G. and Augusta Wallihan, and L.A. Huffman, all displayed together for the first time in Portrayals of the American West. These photographers all worked at the turn of the 19th century to capture the fading lifestyle of the West, along with Indigenous cultures.
L.A. Huffman (1852-1931), Roundup Cook and the Pie Biter, 1886, pigment print, 43½ x 55”
The exhibition first sprang to life when SAM became aware that the local history museum Tread of Pioneers, had a collection of Curtis works. “We’re always looking to collaborate with fellow museums,” says Rod Hanna, professional photographer, curator and SAM president. “A couple of our members also have a significant Curtis collection in their homes, so that started to really generate the exhibition.” As planning progressed, Hanna also discovered additional pieces by Reed, Huffman and the Wallihan’s collected by dealers, galleries and other museums.
“[All these artists] were born and living in the mid-West and were determined to travel to places like Arizona, Montana and Utah, to document the people living in the West and the Indigenous people,” says Hanna. “During this time period, two things came together; the rapid increase of technology with view cameras and people realizing that the lifestyle of the Native Americans and ranch life was going away. In the case of the Indians, the U.S. Government was moving them to reservations and were pushing this idea of simulation to the white man’s lifestyle. Up in Montana, the great buffalo had been decimated and ranching life was also changing.”
Roland Reed (1864-1934), Travois, circa 1912, silver gelatin (sepia), 30x 37”
Reed and Curtis were especially adamant about capturing this region for histories sake. Curtis alone created an extensive volume of work that SAM notes “may be unsurpassed, including 10,000 audio works, 20 volumes of text and more than 40,000 images of 80 tribes. His images of Indigenous people are iconic and considered by historians and art critics to be the definitive works of his time.”
This is witnessed in Curtis’s silver border print Sioux Maiden (unpublished), depicting a Sioux woman photographed against a tree. Even more iconic is Travois by Reed, a silver gelatin (sepia) of a Native man on horseback, set against a mountain range and forested landscape. Besides his extensive travels, Reed lived with the Ojibwe people for two years to chronicle their culture.
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), Sioux Maiden (unpublished), 1907, silver border print, 8 x 6”
“L.A. Huffman primarily photographed ranch life in Montana and Wyoming as a government photographer,” the press release for the exhibition explains. “He has been described as the ‘Charlie Russell of Western photography.’ A man of influence, he also served in the Montana House of Representatives.” Viewers can see his talents in Roundup Cook and the Pie Biter, showing ranch workers at break time.
Husband and wife team, A.G. and Augusta Wallihan, were also photographing ranch life, but their specialty was capturing wildlife, and have been recognized as being among the first wildlife photographers. The pair was concerned about the over-hunting of several different species in the late 1800s, and sought to photograph them for posterity. Also a part of the exhibition, are two portraits of each artist, allowing for a sense of the time. 
Augusta Wallihan (1837-1922), A.G. Wallihan with his Camera, pigment print, 18 x 14”
“[Overall], it’s interesting to compare what Curtis did, as the superstar of the group, and what we have to show of his work, alongside people who had the same idea at the time period, but worked separately. It’s interesting that they all came from a similar background and had a similar thought to capture these important moments in history.” —
Portrayals of the American West
December 3-April 2, 2022
Steamboat Art Museum, 807 Lincoln Avenue, Steamboat, Springs, CO 80488
(970) 870-1755, www.steamboatartmuseum.org
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