Hockaday Museum of Art
Kalispell, Montana
(406) 755-5268
www.hockadaymuseum.org
Images of an Idyllic Past: The Photographs
of Edward S. Curtis, and Barbara Candelaria - Rhythms with Nature
November 19, 1999 - February 12, 2000
"Images
of an Idyllic Past: The Photographs of Edward S. Curtis" offers a unique
view of the daily life, ceremonial rites, dress, and traditions of the American
Indian as documented by Edward S. Curtis. His photographic masterwork, "The
North American Indian," captured glimpses of more than 100 Indian nations
who populated the U.S. and Canada west of the Mississippi River. Working
in the early twentieth century - a time of tremendous change, growth, and
challenge for Native Americans in the developing West - Curtis intended
to "form a comprehensive and permanent record of all the important
tribes" that still remained in the area. His project was recognized
by President Teddy Roosevelt and sponsored in part by financier J.P. Morgan.
Selections from this work, including images taken in Northwest Montana,
are presented in the Hockaday's exhibit.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Edward Sherrif Curtis (1868-1952) began working with photography
as a boy in Wisconsin, but it was in Seattle after 1887 that his images
of Nootka and Muckleshoot men and women first earned him acclaim as a portrait
photographer. Over the next several years, Curtis made trips to Alaska,
Arizona, and Montana, photographing the Eskimo, Hopi, and Blackfoot people
he met.
As
he perfected his photographic techniques in these travels, Curtis's compassion
for the people he met grew. He became convinced that his photographs could
help others understand the traditional life and culture of Native Americans
in the West. Many of the groups he visited were threatened by extinction,
or if not, by pressures to assimilate into "modern" American society
and abandon traditional beliefs and customs. Curtis believed that his photographs
could help document and preserve their way of life before it disappeared.
The project that ultimately resulted was called "The
North American Indian." Twenty volumes in all, it contains more than
2,200 photographs of tribes Curtis met throughout the Southwest, Northwest,
and Pacific Coast. Images of Montana's Kalispel, Flathead, Blackfeet and
Kutenai groups are well-covered in the volumes. More than just portraits,
Curtis photographed images of daily life -- work, play, home. Because of
his careful and considerate manner, Curtis was even allowed to photograph
special ceremonies - including the Sun Dance of the Blackfeet.
Curtis's detailed observations about customs and culture
attempted to provide background information for each image. But the strongest
element of "The North American Indian" is clearly Curtis's sensitive
portraiture. His beautiful images were recognized immediately as more than
simple documentary pictures - they struck everyone who saw them as great
works of art.
Curtis met and photographed many of the leaders of the
day, from Princess Angeline, daughter of Chief Seattle, to Chief Joseph
and Teddy Roosevelt. He traveled widely to lecture about his research and
display his photographs. His work today forms a foundation for much of our
familiarity with images of Native Americans in the West.
CURTIS IN MONTANA
While hiking on Mount Rainier one day in 1898, Curtis rescued
a group of lost hikers. As it happened, the group included writer/editor
George Bird Grinnell. Grinnell was impressed by Curtis's photographic talent
and his sincere interest in Native American culture. He arranged for Curtis
to visit the Blackfeet reservation with him in 1900. That
summer Curtis learned a great deal about the Blackfeet, even observing their
sacred "Sun Dance" ceremony. By the end of his visit, and encouraged
by Grinnell, Curtis was determined to begin "The North American Indian."
He immediately returned to Seattle to begin organizing the project - one
that would take twenty-five years to complete in full. He returned several
times to Northwest Montana, working again with the Blackfeet and also with
the area's Kalispel, Flathead, and Kutenai populations.
ABOUT "THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN"
In 1904, Curtis portrait skills came to the attention of
Theodore Roosevelt, who ultimately authored the forward to the portfolios
of photographs that Curtis produced. Roosevelt also lent his support to
the project by writing a letter of introduction to J.P. Morgan, under whose
patronage the project was funded.
Curtis spent three decades recording on film and on paper
as many tribes as he could find. He usually had an anthropologist or writer
with him on his trips and sometimes even took his children with him. He
lectured all over the country to keep his funding going, speaking for the
National Geographic Society, National Academy of Science, Smithsonian Institute
and other prestigious organizations, hoping to stir the imagination and
financial generosity of wealthy patrons.
Although Curtis' project had a rather auspicious start,
it took sixteen years longer than anticipated and exceeded the budget by
nearly $1.4 million. In the end, Curtis bankrupted his marriage, his family
life, his personal health, and his finances in order to realize his dream,
but his achievement endures as a legacy to the heritage of the nation and
to the family of man. His work has been collected by museums, libraries,
and colleges and now enjoys a renaissance of public interest.
Also
on exhibit through the same time period, "Rhythms With Nature"
is a wondrous collection of paintings by Whitefish watercolor artist Barbara
Candelaria (see left). Her plein-air artistry is exhibited in Montana galleries
such as the Montana House in Glacier National Park and Kindred Spirits gallery
in the Kalispell/Glacier Park International Airport.
About her work, Candelaria says, "Each of my paintings
represents a dance through nature. Having a mutual meeting with a potential
subject allows me to transform the environment into inspiration. By creating
a harmony with the wonders of the wilderness through shape, light and color,
I go beyond the visual experience, into the area of emotional response.
Above all, the landscape is alive, I am alive and I try to keep my paintings
alive." In addition to her "Rhythms with Nature" exhibit,
the Hockaday Museum Shop this fall features a selection of the artist's
"splendor of winter" prints and cards.
Read more about the Hockaday
Museum of Art in Resource Library
For further biographical information on Edward S. Curtis
please see America's Distinguished
Artists, a national registry of historic artists.
rev. 11/1/10
Search Resource
Library for thousands of articles and essays on American art.
Copyright 2010 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights
reserved.
"Images
of an Idyllic Past: The Photographs of Edward S. Curtis" offers a unique
view of the daily life, ceremonial rites, dress, and traditions of the American
Indian as documented by Edward S. Curtis. His photographic masterwork, "The
North American Indian," captured glimpses of more than 100 Indian nations
who populated the U.S. and Canada west of the Mississippi River. Working
in the early twentieth century - a time of tremendous change, growth, and
challenge for Native Americans in the developing West - Curtis intended
to "form a comprehensive and permanent record of all the important
tribes" that still remained in the area. His project was recognized
by President Teddy Roosevelt and sponsored in part by financier J.P. Morgan.
Selections from this work, including images taken in Northwest Montana,
are presented in the Hockaday's exhibit.
