Edward Curtis

Edward Sheriff Curtis was born on February 16, 1868 and died on October 19, 1952. He was known for his photographs of the American West and Native Americans.

Edward Curtis was born in Whitewater, Wisconsin. In 1874, Edward Curtis built his own camera. In 1885 Curtis became an apprentice photographer in St. Paul Minnesota. In 1892 Edward Curtis married Clara J. Philips who later divorced him and received the Curtis' photographic studio and all of his original camera negatives as her part of the settlement.

In 1906 Curtis was paid $75,000 to take a job and make a documentary on American Indians.Curtis'job was to document the traditional way of life of the American Indians before that way of life disapeared.

Edward Curtis' photo's are some of the only documented photo's on the traditional ways of the American Indian, although he would sometimes manipulate the pictures to match the common sterotypes about Indians, such as putting headresses on the Indians even if their tribe didn't normally wear headresses.

In many of Curtis' other photographs he would remove items that didn't fit with the "noble savage" sterotype" such as removing a clock that was placed between to Native Americans in the picture " In a Piegan Lodge."

         (Photo Published)                       (Original Photo)

Edward Curtis died at the age of 84 in Whittier, California. Edward Curtis' obituary appeared in the New York TImes the day after his death saying "Edward S. Curtis, internationally known authority on the history of the North American Indian, died today at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Bess Magnuson. His age was 84. Mr. Curtis devoted his life to compiling Indian history. His research was done under the patronage of the late financier, J. Pierpont Morgan. The foreward for the monumental set of Curtis books was written by President Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Curtis was also widely known as a photographer."