Arapaho, Northern Plains
1880
Albumen photo on board mount
9" / 22.9 cm x 7" / 17.8 cm including board mount
Provenance: Private collection, Albuquerque, NM
This albumen photograph depicts Big Mouth, identified as an Arapaho chief, standing in a strong frontal pose and holding objects associated with personal presentation and dress. Made around 1880, the image belongs to the late 19th-century photographic record of named Plains Native leaders, a body of work produced through a combination of government documentation, commercial studio trade, and individual initiative by frontier photographers. The mounted format and outdoor or staged rocky setting reflect photographic practices commonly used for Native American portraiture of the period.
The albumen process gives the print the warm tonal quality characteristic of many late 19th-century photographs, with good detail in the figure and background. As a named Arapaho portrait with clear cultural attribution, the image carries documentary integrity beyond that of unidentified Plains photographs. The Albuquerque provenance connects this piece to the Southwest collector market where Plains photographic material has circulated for over a century.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Arapaho, Northern Plains
1880
Albumen photo on board mount
9" / 22.9 cm x 7" / 17.8 cm including board mount
Provenance: Private collection, Albuquerque, NM
This albumen photograph depicts Big Mouth, identified as an Arapaho chief, standing in a strong frontal pose and holding objects associated with personal presentation and dress. Made around 1880, the image belongs to the late 19th-century photographic record of named Plains Native leaders, a body of work produced through a combination of government documentation, commercial studio trade, and individual initiative by frontier photographers. The mounted format and outdoor or staged rocky setting reflect photographic practices commonly used for Native American portraiture of the period.
The albumen process gives the print the warm tonal quality characteristic of many late 19th-century photographs, with good detail in the figure and background. As a named Arapaho portrait with clear cultural attribution, the image carries documentary integrity beyond that of unidentified Plains photographs. The Albuquerque provenance connects this piece to the Southwest collector market where Plains photographic material has circulated for over a century.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
