from The North American Indian, plate 133, portfolio 4

Edward S. Curtis
American, 1868-1952

The subject of this dramatic portrait, Shot in the Hand (Maohpish), was born about 1841.  He was a Medicine Crow, a member of the Fox organization and the Whistle Water clan.  Photographer Edward S. Curtis noted he was a particularly skilled and fierce warrior.

Curtis’s methods of portrait photography are now considered controversial.  While some photographs were straightforward, others depict Native Americans dressed up in costumes Curtis carried with him.  His North American Indian series evokes an imagined reality imposed by the photographer, immensely appealing to the eye but ultimately lacking credibility.

 

Photogravure, 1908
Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 1985.132