Edward Curtis was a famous photographer born in 1868 who is best known for his photos of Native Americans in the early 20th century. He took over 40,000 photos documenting the lives and cultures of over 80 tribes. In 1906, he was commissioned to create a series of 20 volumes containing 1,500 photos each. Though controversial for sometimes altering clothing, his work had a huge impact on capturing Native American culture and left his mark on portrait photography. Curtis passed away in 1952 at the age of 84.
2. Biography Edward Curtis was born in Whitewater, Wisconsin on February 16, 1968. When he was 17 he received his first camera. Shortly after that he was married in 1895 but divorced in 1910. In 1906 Curtis was given a $75,000 deal to make a special series of Native American photos. It was going to be 1,500 photos a volume and there would be 20 in total.
3. Greatest Moments Edward Curtis had many memorable moments, but he is mainly known for his most famous one which is the book that he had written about Indians and there many different cultures. This was later taken to Hollywood and made into a movie. Although many people did not like the fact that he changed some tribes clothing to make his photos look more eye catching. This later proved to become a huge impact on his career.
4. Idols Over all of his years as a photographer he had a number of companions and idols. His first companion was a man named RasmusRothi whom he shared a business with and he discovered he was a very good photographer. After a while Curtis decided to move on and further his knowledge of photography. he moved to another business with a man named Thomas Guptill Curtis taught him almost everything he knew about photography but Guptill left the photography business soon after.
5. Impact on Photography Curtis left his impact on the portrait world of photography. Over his lifetime of eighty-four years he took over 40,000 pictures of Native americans he was one of the only photographers to actually spend weeks at Native camps studying and actually participating in their daily chores and rituals. He learned as much as He could about them and took pictures at the same time.
6. Cultural Art Another important form of art Curtis used was Cultural photography. He was mainly known for this since it was the midpoint of his career and also it was the subject he was most successful in. He mixed cultures together by asking them to perform different rituals and change into different clothes. Indian Chief named White Shield 1908
7. Popular Photos Zuni Indian women 1903 Spokan Indian Camp 1910 Dew Moving New Mexico 1905
9. Edwards Death Curtis born on February 16, 1868 in Whitewater, Wisconsin died on October 19, 1952 in Whittier California. He was eighty-four years old. He died of a heart attack at his daughters house. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Holleywood Hills, California.
