id: 153660
accession number: 1987.183
share license status: Copyrighted
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.183
updated: 2024-03-26 02:00:00.916000
At the Old Well of Acoma, 1904. Edward S. Curtis (American, 1868–1952). Platinum print; image: 32.3 x 41.6 cm (12 11/16 x 16 3/8 in.); matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Kathryn Arns May in memory of Mary Moore Arns 1987.183 © E. S. Curtis
title: At the Old Well of Acoma
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1904
creation date earliest: 1904
creation date latest: 1904
current location:
creditline: Gift of Kathryn Arns May in memory of Mary Moore Arns
copyright: © E. S. Curtis
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culture: America, 20th century
technique: platinum print
department: Photography
collection: PH - American 1900-1950
type: Photograph
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Edward S. Curtis (American, 1868–1952) - artist
Edward S. Curtis American, 1868 - 1952
Edward Sheriff Curtis, born near White Water, Wisconsin, was a well-established commercial photographer before he undertook his best known work shortly before the turn of the century. Working first as photographer for the Edward H. Harriman expedition in Alaska (1899), he later secured the endorsement of Theodore Roosevelt and the support of J. P. Morgan for an extensive anthropological and photographic study of Native Americans. Curtis's work from 1906 -- 20 resulted in The North American Indian and eventually generated 40,000 negatives, of which 1,200 were presented in gravure form in the 20 volumes and 20 accompanying portfolios of his study.
Although his intentions were anthropological and scholarl -- to preserve the appearance and customs of a dying race -- Curtis nevertheless was affected by the artistic styles of his time. His portraits and tableaux were often strongly pictorialist, as their presentation on imported papers and in rarefied media such as orotone would suggest. His scientific aims were frequently undercut by a personal interpretation of his subjects, to whom he often supplied costumes and props. Time has proved Curtis, in this era of his career, equally an artist and an anthropologist. His later work in Los Angeles, which deserves further study, focused on Hollywood and the world of movies. T.W.F.
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measurements: Image: 32.3 x 41.6 cm (12 11/16 x 16 3/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
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inscriptions:
inscription: Written in black ink on recto: "Curtis [signed]"
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remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: The Year in Review for 1987
opening date: 1988-02-24T05:00:00
The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
title: Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 1996-11-24T05:00:00
Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
title: Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2007-06-24T00:00:00
Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* {'description': 'CMA, February 24 - April 17, 1988: "Year in Review 1987," CMA Bulletin, 75 (February 1988), p. 66, no. 50.', 'opening_date': '1988-02-24T00:00:00'}
* {'description': 'CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art."', 'opening_date': '1997-02-02T00:00:00'}
* {'description': 'The Cleveland Museum of Art (6/24/07 - 9/16/07); "Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art", no exhibition catalogue.', 'opening_date': '2007-06-24T00:00:00'}
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PROVENANCE
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996.
page number: Reproduced: P. 135
url:
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IMAGES