Customer Reviews

Edward S. Curtis: Coming to Light

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If you read this book you will never be able to look at a Curtis photograph in exactly the same way again. Most people have seen Curtis photographs (often not attributed to anyone in particular) of Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Red Cloud and other important Indian chiefs, but he also documented the lives of ordinary Indians. I have a number of inexpensive prints of these photographs and I knew he was an important American photographer, but that was all. This biography puts him in his proper place as one of America's great photographers and photographic artists. He was a successful Seattle photographer when in about 1900 he set himself the task of documenting the vanishing culture of the American Indian. This task resulted in the production of a 20-volume set of books on the North American Indian. He supported his work (or at least tried to) by selling subscriptions for the series. At $3000 per set they available for only the most limited of audiences. (In about 1910, $3000 was worth more than $200,000 in current dollars, so these books were only purchased by the likes of J.P.Morgan and the King of England.) He originally expected to finish in a few years, instead of the 30 years that it actually took. Instead of just abandoning the project when it became clear that even at $3000 per set he could not hope to cover his costs, he felt he had an obligation to the original subscribers to provide all 20 of the promised volumes. This cost him eventual control over the project (including the engraved plates of the photographs), his photographic studio and even his marriage. Along the way he became a pioneering ethnographer, using both glass plate photographs and early motion picture technology capture Indian life. His photographs do much more than document Indians and Indian life; his composition and use of light make them great art.

There are several books currently on the market that contain more extensive collections of Curtis photographs and if this is primarily what you want they would be better choices. Buy this book if you want to find out more about the man who took them and the price he paid to do so. This book, while not an extensive biography, details all of the aspects of his life, augmented with many of his photographs. It strikes a very good balance between text and pictures. It provides some famous Curtis photographs (such as that of Chief Joseph), some of his most artistic ones (such as "The Storm" and "An Oasis in the Bad Lands"), as well as providing a very informative text.

Photography is about capturing light. The way light comes to life in these photographs, and dances over and through the subjects, is truly mesmerizing. Edward S. Curtis was undeniably an artist, and he left for his fellow mankind a wonderful gift. We benefit through his sight and likewise, his INsight. With the recognition of what was quickly vanishing, even as he strove to visually preserve it, Curtis dedicated his life to telling a story. One very true and also very sad due to its cessation.

Although certainly he achieved fame, his name is not as well known as it deserves to be. Just about any of his images contained within this collection can be termed a work of art. Each scene or vista is a pathway for the eye and mind to experience. These are unforgettable and deeply enriching. A wonderful beautiful compilation.

You have to appreciate the value that Curtis has on recording the disappearing frontier. He was aware that the time was running out on the American Indian. We should all value his photographs on the way Native Americans lived and how they shaped the basic values that we will someday relish.