In 2021 when I was doing some research into our Edward S. Curtis photography collection as well as California Indian basketry, I determined that some of the baskets pictured by Curtis, seen below, are now in the collection of the Autry Museum in Los Angeles. I felt like a detective, and I had a great time combing through the Autry database and comparing images.
Shortly after that, in early 2023, an exhibition I developed opened. I had borrowed a Haida slate pipe from the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, and it was beautifully displayed alongside a Curtis photogravure of a similar pipe. Except, it wasn’t just similar—it was the exact same pipe. Again, I was thrilled by this “find,” and I saw it as rewarding in its own way—like I was connecting the past to the present.
I was hooked. I wanted to start digging into our Curtis collection to find out more about the objects and the people in these photographic works. Of course, though, I had neither time nor resources to really do this. So I began—every few weeks, when I had an hour or so to spare—to find a comfortable spot in the library and actually read Curtis’s 20-volume, 5,000-page publication (which is not a task that should be taken lightly). Occasionally a clue pops up within the text that leads to information about one of the images. I also did a lot of googling.
It has been slow work, but over the years, myself and my colleague Ernest Gendron, have compiled a relatively decent-sized list of facts about the sitters in some of Curtis’s portraits, or the objects in the photographs. For example, in The North American Indian, Curtis does not record the name of the little girl in the photograph below. But in a different publication, however, Curtis indicates her name is Blue Bird.
As another example, based on a handwritten inscription and some digging in an online archive, I ascertained that the below portrait is John Shoemaker of Hoopa Valley, who worked with Curtis as a cultural consultant.
I want to emphasize here that in many cases I was not necessarily making new discoveries. A lot of the work was just compiling information from resources where others already had done the identifying for me. How wonderful would it be though, I thought, to have a singular resource where all the names, personal histories, and related contextual information could be found about the Curtis photographs.
I decided to officially start the work for The James Museum to eventually be that institution. With more than 1,500 Curtis prints and counting in our collection, I see it as our duty.
That said, I invite you, reader, to participate. Below are some portraits of people whose names Curtis either did not record that I am aware of, or their name is the title, but that is all the information I know. If you have any information about who they are, please contact me at [email protected] or fill out the form at the bottom of this page.
Do you have information about people in these portraits?
Join the Search!
These handful of portraits are the tip of the iceberg. If you have relevant, personal knowledge about any of Curtis’s photographic work, we want to hear from you. Thank you!
The Edward S. Curtis collection at The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art is from the generous donations of Robb and Susan Hough.
