Comments on: Edward S. Curtis

By: Haley

Haley — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:50:15 +0000

Traditional dress or regalia, not costumes.

By: Clementine Cassie

Clementine Cassie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:34:47 +0000

These are truly haunting and amazing – and almost profoundly sad.
Is it possible that the child in the third photo down is wearing someone else’s scalp/hair? Look at the part. Whoa.

By: Diana

Diana — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:20:25 +0000

love these. beautiful.

By: Julian

Julian — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:32:44 +0000

J.P. Morgan probably got a kick out of the whole idea of tribes disappearing.

By: Nickie Frye

Nickie Frye — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:14:46 +0000

Rad. This is a neat source for old photos too, if anyone is interested.
http://www.old-picture.com/

By: Di

Di — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:15:06 +0000

LOVE this. LOOK AT HIS HAT! That hat is amazing.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:28:27 +0000

i’ve seen these before but i never knew where they were from. they’re beautiful – thanks so much for sharing.

By: Alison

Alison — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:24:53 +0000

I wonder if there ever can be a truly accurate version of history. Regardless of whether it’s film or photography, the person behind the camera inevitably influences what’s in front of the lens. When it comes to deliberate attempts to document a cultural legacy it gets even more messy. I appreciate the fact that these photos exist, but the veracity of the images leaves something to be desired. Kinda have to take it with a grain of salt.

Also, love the idea of “construction and reality” — the artificial made to seem real. It’s kind of like reality shows, if you think about it.

By: liane

liane — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:54:07 +0000

these are amazing photos. i could look at them for a long time. thanks for sharing them.

By: evencleveland

evencleveland — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:48:46 +0000

Old J.P. was a pretty sharp dude.

The interesting thing about the Curtis pictures is that they are such an entanglement of construction and reality – real people, real artifacts, but sometimes put together in artificial ways to create what he felt was the emotional truth. Curtis had his own passionately idealistic ideas of Native American life, and he did some drastic staging to make the images he wanted to show.

They are beautiful, though. Otherworldly.