Tags
anthropology, Chief Seattle, Edward Curtis, ethnology, Native Americans, photography, Timothy Egan
Timothy Egan has the Midas touch for bringing historical figures to life on the page. His newest book, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, examines the hardscrabble life of early twentieth century photographer, Edward Curtis. Before iconic American photographer, Ansel Adams, lugged his heavy equipment into the field to capture stunning landscapes, the lesser known Edward Curtis was lugging glass plates up the sides of Mount Rainier, determined to capture the essence of the mountain between billowing blankets of fog and the rising and setting sun.
Angeline was the first Indian subject immortalized by Curtis. She was the daughter of Chief Seattle and the last Native American living in Seattle at that time. The 1896 portrait Curtis took of her shortly before she died became a prototype for the intimate and honest portrayals that would consume his life.
From his initial contact with Pacific Northwest Indians, Curtis recognized that highly developed cultures were being snuffed out by American progress and a government mandate to sanitize and Christianize the continent’s prior peoples. Curtis developed a grandiose plan to document every Indian culture in the United States, not only with visual representations of their everyday lives, but also by recording their language, music, customs, rituals, and sacred beliefs.
With no formal education beyond the sixth grade, this visionary man took on an ethnology beyond the scope of any before or since. He became obsessed with finding and recording a rapidly vanishing race for posterity. The more time he spent in the field, living with Indians, learning their rites, their language, their humanity, the more important it became to correct the body of misinformation about America’s “heathens.” Besides ushering in an era of photo journalism, Curtis may also have been the first white human rights activist, determined to reveal the true stories behind men like Chief Joseph, Geronimo, and General George Custer.
Egan delves unflinchingly into how Curtis sold his soul to finance his dream by begging and bullying money and support from the likes of J. Pierpoint Morgan and Teddy Roosevelt.
The project he conceived, and achieved over 30 years, was a limited print edition of 20 volumes, organized by tribe and cultural area. The set includes over 2,000 of his 40,000 photogravure plates, along with text describing the cultural practices of 80 Native American tribes. Along with the photos and text, he included vocabularies and phonetic keys for 75 distinct languages.
The heartbreaking reality is that Curtis’s obsession with truth left him destitute and physically broken. His life work, a full set of The North American Indian, for which he never received a penny and which could barely be given away after the project was completed in 1930, was sold at Christies for $1.4 million dollars in 2005. His legacy is priceless in its contribution to the American story and psyche.
Egan eulogizes Curtis with care, reverence, and honesty, gently depicting a man so driven by the big picture that he loses important strands of his own life. If there is a failing in Egan’s book, it may be that there are not enough images. Egan’s descriptions stirs the imagination. Each chapter is followed by one or more full page Curtis images, but I wanted—I needed to see more. My curiosity lead to a marvelous website which augmented what Egan was unable to squeeze into a book of a manageable price and size. That left only one egregious missing element—a list of illustrations that were included in the book.
Reading about the Shadow Catcher has whetted my appetite to see more and to learn more about this man, Edward Curtis, who explained his persistence by saying, “I am one of those fanatical persons who wants to finish what he starts.” (p. 293)
Robert Brownbridge Writes Stories and Poetry said:
Great summary of Curtis’ marvelous work, Linda. I love Edward Curtis and have four sepia reprints of famous originals (my ex has the 3 others that I bought in 1976). The 70’s reprints I have are by a notable photographer named Antony du Lac. His reprints are of an Ogalala Chief in The Bad Lands, a Duck Hunter, and the great Medicine Man Red Cloud. My 4th reprint I purchased this past year is titled Offering to the Sun; a Tewa Indian is pictured on a large rock formation spreading corn at dawn to honor rising of the sun. I also have two books that include many of Curtis’ great works.I hope you can see them all in the near future.
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rangewriter said:
Oh Bob, that would be a real treat. I’m thinking it would be fun to plan a road trip around Curtis stuff….museum exhibits, shoot locales, etc.
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John said:
How fascinating! Time to pop this book on my Amazon wish list.
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rangewriter said:
Oh boy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, John.
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Glenda Hornig said:
Did I tell you about this book? I read it this summer or maybe it was a novel about Curtis. Anyway you’re right about the stunning photography. I think the one I read was from his wife’s point of view. But I think it was called the Shadow Catcher.
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Glenda Hornig said:
Actually I just looked it up and it was a novel by Marianne Wiggins, but very interesting.
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rangewriter said:
I don’t think you told me about it. The story about his wife, according to Egan, was as tragic as his own story. It started as a loving, supporting romance with her helping him in every and any way imaginable, but his long periods away from home and his inability to bring in a paycheck destroyed their marriage, and perhaps even her sanity. I’ll have to check out Wiggin’s novel.
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writingfeemail said:
Haven’t read the book yet, but did listen to an interview with the author. It was fascinating. He was truly a visionary.
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rangewriter said:
Oh, I missed the interview. Was it on NPR? Timothy Egan is a pretty amazing author. I’ve read several of his books.
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singlemom'sblatherbubbleblog said:
Thank you for such a nice post. I’m so glad that I stumbled upon your blog.
Yes, I am going to purchase this book. How can I not ? Thanks again !
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rangewriter said:
Why thank YOU singlemom! Your comment was so exceedingly sweet that I initially thought one of those pesky spammers had sneaked through. I happy I am that it was you. I hope you will enjoy the book as much as I did. I always feel a bit nervous about reviews because they are so subjective. What if I lead someone to a place they hate?
Well, anyway, I’m glad you stumbled upon my blog as well. BTW, do you know what led you to this mixed up stew?
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bronxboy55 said:
Until I read your post, Linda, I was unfamiliar with Edward Curtis — unaware of him, actually. But as I looked through the images on the website you referred to, I instantly grew to appreciate the scope and beauty of his work. I can only imagine the process it took, and the suffering it caused him and his family. Thank you for writing about this.
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rangewriter said:
Thank you, Charles. I had heard of him, however, until I read this biography, I had no idea about the passion and breadth of his documentary work. His contribution to our current understanding of “life before white” in America is unparalleled.
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Strings 'n Things said:
It’s a shame with all his dedication, talent, and persistence that he didn’t get recognized in his life time. Sounds like an interesting book. Nice to read your blog talking about some Pacific NW Native Americans while I”m sitting in my Seattle hotel room!
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rangewriter said:
I bet there are exhibitions of Curtis’ work somewhere in downtown Seattle. I don’t know where, but Seattle was his home town. There may even be a Curtis Photography studio somewhere!
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