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Photographed by Rebecca Hamel
Bear's Belly - Arikara
Photographed by Rebecca Hamel
Photographed by Rebecca Hamel

Bear's Belly - Arikara

Artist (American, 1868 - 1952)
Engraver (American (founded 1869))
Datecopyright 1908
Mediumphotogravure on paper
Dimensions22 1/4 × 18 1/4 inches (56.5 × 46.4 cm)
Other (Plate): 17 5/8 × 13 inches (44.8 × 33 cm)
Credit LinePurchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 2013
Object number2013.2.5.4
ClassificationsPhotographs
Label TextCurtis identified his subject as “a member of the medicine fraternity, wrapped in his sacred bear-skin.” Curtis quoted Bear’s Belly concerning his spiritual journey. “Needing a bear-skin in my medicine-making, I went . . . into the White Clay hills. . . . All the thought of my heart was to see a bear and kill him.” Bear’s Belly encountered not just one bear, but he found three. He overcame all of them. In the image, the bear-skin envelopes Bear’s Belly. It gives a sense of unity between the man and the spiritual power he acquired from the animal.
ProvenanceAcquired by subscription directly from the artist by the National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.[1]; purchased December 6, 2012 through (Christies, New York, New York,[2]) by (Arader Galleries, New York, New York); purchased June 10, 2013 through (Arader Galleries, New York, New York) by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art | [1] This set was stored in the National Geographic Society’s archive housed in the Society’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. | [2] "The National Geographic Collection: The Art of Exploration," December 6, 2012, Christie’s, New York, Rockefeller Plaza, sale 2603, lot 65
On View
Not on view
Photographed by Rebecca Hamel
Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1908
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Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1907
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Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1903
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Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1906
The Storm - Apache
Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1906
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Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1903
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Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1903
Photographed by Tom DuBrock
Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1903
Photographed by Tom DuBrock
Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1903
Photographed by Tom DuBrock
Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1904
Photographed by Tom DuBrock
Edward S. Curtis
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Jicarilla Women
Edward S. Curtis
copyright 1904