The North American Indian Being a Series of Volumes Picturing and Describing the Indians of the United States and Alaska

Artist Edward S. Curtis (American, 1868 - 1952)

Author Edward S. Curtis (American, 1868 - 1952)

Publisher Edward S. Curtis (American, 1868 - 1952)

Editor Frederick Webb Hodge (American, 1864 - 1956)

Date1907

Mediumink on paper, photogravure on paper; bound brown leather spine and corners with gold embossing on spine, tan fabric boards

Dimensions13 × 10 1/4 × 2 1/8 inches (33 × 26 × 5.4 cm)

Credit LinePurchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 2013

Object number2013.2.21

ClassificationsDocumentary Artifacts

DescriptionApache, Jicarillas, Navaho

Label TextVolume One is open to “The Blanket Maker – Navaho." Curtis wrote about the artistry of the blankets. Yet he downplayed the important economic contributions of the weavers. “The Navaho woman weaves her blanket not so much for profit as for love of the work. It is her recreation, her means of expressing imagination and her skill in execution. . . . When after months of labor she finished a blanket, her pride in her work of art is indeed well justified.”

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

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