The Lost Tribes: Remarkable 100-Year-Old Photos Provide Insight Into the Lives of Native Americans
By MARK DUELL FOR MAILONLINE
- Between 1907 and 1930, Edward Curtis spent time with more than 80 native tribes across America
- He took thousands of pictures as part of his groundbreaking ‘The North American Indian’ project
- Collection of more than 500 of his pictures are being auctioned off as prints in London next week
- Collection belongs to an elderly man who acquired them at a house sale in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1969
A remarkable photographic collection giving an unprecedented insight into the lives of Native Americans when their land was being taken from them has emerged a century later.
Between 1907 and 1930, Wisconsin-born photographer Edward Curtis spent time with more than 80 native tribes across America, taking thousands of pictures as part of his groundbreaking ‘The North American Indian’ project.
A collection of more than 500 of his pictures - including striking images of Native American chiefs and tribes on horseback roaming their land - are being auctioned off as prints and are expected to fetch £300,000 ($378,000).
Native Americans from decades past: Weasel Tail of the Piegan tribe in 1900 (left) and a Tewa girl in 1921 (right)
Astonishing images: Nez Pez baby in 1900 (left) and an Apache baby in 1903 (right). Between 1907 and 1930, Wisconsin-born photographer Edward Curtis spent time with more than 80 native tribes across America
Picture collection: Bull Chief of the Apsaroke in 1908 (left) and a young man of the Piegan tribe in 1900 (right)
The collection belongs to an elderly man who acquired them at a house sale in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1969 and has now decided to sell them in auction which will take place in London on Thursday next week.
Mr Curtis was born in 1868 and had his first encounters with Native Americans when he was invited on a research project as a photographer in 1907.
Initially, the natives he met were wary of him, but he made an effort to immerse himself in their culture and was able to earn their trust.
Russell Mount from Bloomsbury Auctions, which is selling the prints, said: ‘He persevered with this project through thick and thin, through bankruptcy. It’s an astonishing and exceptional project.
More than 110 years ago: Qunia'ika of the Mohave tribe in 1903 (left) and Eskadi of the Apache tribe in the same year (right)
Immersed in their culture: Bears Belly of the Arikara tribe in 1908 (left) and woman of the Lummi tribe in 1899 (right)
Among the 500 pictures: Princess Angeline in 1899 (left) and Shot in the Hand from the Apsaroke tribe in 1908 (right)
‘Initially there was hostility towards him but Curtis spent so much time with the Native Americans - he lived with them - that he became trusted.
‘He observed their ways of life at a time when they were being degraded, at the point when their reservations were being closed and taken over.’
Mr Curtis’s monumental work was largely ignored and underappreciated until after his death. In fact, his photographs were not deemed significant enough to be mentioned in his obituary following his death in 1952.
It is only since the 1970s that Curtis’ images have received widespread recognition.
Expected to fetch £300,000: Cayuse Warrior in 1910 (left) and Bull Chief from the Apsaroke tribe in 1908 (right)
Jicarilla Matron in 1904 (left) and Alchise from the Apache tribe in 1903 (right). Mr Curtis’s monumental work was largely ignored and underappreciated until after his death
Jacarilla Maiden in 1904 (left) and Qahatika Girl in 1907 (right). Mr Curtis's photographs were not deemed significant enough to be mentioned in his obituary following his death in 1952
Chief Garfield from the Jacarilla tribe in 1904. Sets of 'The North American Indian' are said to be 'exceptionally rare' at auction
Mr Mount said: ‘This is a very poignant document of the Native American Indians’ last days and years. Curtis didn’t make a lot of money out of them - he ended up as a cameraman in Hollywood.
‘In fact, there was so little respect for his work at the time that the photos weren’t mentioned in his obituary. It’s only since his death that they’ve become popular and well-known.
‘Sets of The North American Indian are exceptionally rare in auction. When produced they were so expensive that they could only be taken by very rich individuals or by the major universities.
‘With very few exceptions, the copies remain in the libraries or collections they first entered. It’s very unusual for a set to come up for sale.’