The Potter Mixing Clay

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

Engraver Suffolk Engraving Company (American, active early 20th century)

Date1921, copyright date; 1922 publication date

Mediumcopper

DimensionsPlate: 13 1/2 × 16 3/4 inches (34.3 × 42.5 cm)
Image: 11 7/16 × 15 3/8 inches (29.1 × 39.1 cm)

Credit LinePurchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 2018

Object number2018.1.1

ClassificationsPrinting T&E

DescriptionCopper photogravure printing plate

Label TextCurtis used a camera to take glass plate negatives. He had his photographs made into photogravures. This copper plate produced the photogravure. The process used acid to etch Curtis’s image into the printing plate. The engravers used the plate to make multiple prints. The quality work of the printers was essential to the success of the project. The plate is a reminder of the many people who contributed skilled work to Curtis’s project.

ProvenanceEdward S. Curtis, Curtis Gravures Company, New York, New York, 1906 - 1909; Edward Curtis, J.P. Morgan and J. P. Morgan, Jr., The North American Indian, Inc., New York, New York, 1909 - 1923; J.P. Morgan, Jr., The North American Indian, Inc., New York, New York, 1923- 1935; Charles E. Lariat Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1935 - 1972; Cerro Gordo Associates, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1972 - 1973; The North American Indian, Inc., a Massachusetts and a Delaware corporation, 1973 - 1976; Classic Gravure Corporation, a California corporation, 1976 - 1982; ZAK Partnership, a California partnership, 1982 – 1985; Private Collection, 1985 – 2017 [1]; purchased November 30, 2017 by (Heather James Fine Art, Jackson, Wyoming); purchased March 16, 2018 by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art | 1. Private collector wishes to remain anonymous.

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