Between 1900 and 1930, the American photographer Edward S. Curtis made a name for himself documenting the American West and the lives and cultures of more than 80 Indigenous tribes. Over the course of his career, Curtis produced more than 40,000 glass-plate negatives, as well as thousands of wax cylinder recordings, pages of anthropological text, and a feature-length film.
Curtis, born in 1868, exhibited an early interest in photography, building his own camera when he was 12, beginning a formal apprenticeship at 17 and, only three years later, launching his own studio, Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers.
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), Medicine Crow, goldtone.
A new exhibition at the Woolaroc Museum in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, focuses on a momentous turning point in Curtis’ career when, in 1906, he partnered with J.P. Morgan on a lifelong project called The North American Indian.
A collaboration between the Woolaroc and prominent art collector and curator Tim Peterson, Edward S. Curtis: Catching Shadows on the Plains will highlight Curtis’ commitment to preserving Native culture, including the Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains.
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), A Blackfoot Travois, photogravure.
“Curtis focused heavily on the nomadic Plains tribes, capturing iconic imagery of their lives as horsemen, hunters and warriors,” explains Woolaroc CEO Kevin Hoch. “In many cases, [they] welcomed Curtis into their communities with open arms, where they posed for his photographs, shared noteworthy oral histories and performed traditional ceremonies for documentation purposes…[Curtis’] body of work, particularly focusing on the Great Plains is significant for its immense scale and artistic portrayal of their way of life which included thousands of photographs and recordings.”
Edward S. Curtis: Catching Shadows on the Plains opens on April 25 and remains on view through December 31, 2026. —
Edward S. Curtis: Catching Shadows on the Plains
April 25-December 31, 2026
Woolaroc Museum
1925 Woolaroc Ranch Road, Bartlesville, OK 74003
(918) 336-0307, www.woolaroc.org
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