Maidu, Northern California
1924
Photogravure on Dutch Van Gelder paper
Image 11 7/16 x 15 9/16 inches; sheet 17 15/16 x 21 7/8 inches
Provenance: Private collection, Tucson, AZ
This photogravure portrait of Otila, a named Maidu individual, was printed in 1924 on Dutch Van Gelder paper as part of Edward S. Curtis's monumental documentation of North American indigenous peoples in The North American Indian. The Maidu people of the Sierra Nevada foothills and Sacramento Valley were among the most populous of California's indigenous groups before colonization, and by the 1920s their numbers had been severely reduced by the catastrophic impact of the Gold Rush era and its aftermath. Curtis's portraits of Maidu subjects are among the less frequently encountered examples of his California work, giving this image particular scarcity within the broader Curtis corpus.
Otila, as a named individual portrait, represents a direct and personal image from Curtis's documentation of a community in the midst of profound historical disruption. Printed on Dutch Van Gelder paper with the rich tonal depth characteristic of Curtis's finest photogravures, this is a distinguished example of both California Native American cultural heritage and American photographic history. From a Tucson private collection.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Maidu, Northern California
1924
Photogravure on Dutch Van Gelder paper
Image 11 7/16 x 15 9/16 inches; sheet 17 15/16 x 21 7/8 inches
Provenance: Private collection, Tucson, AZ
This photogravure portrait of Otila, a named Maidu individual, was printed in 1924 on Dutch Van Gelder paper as part of Edward S. Curtis's monumental documentation of North American indigenous peoples in The North American Indian. The Maidu people of the Sierra Nevada foothills and Sacramento Valley were among the most populous of California's indigenous groups before colonization, and by the 1920s their numbers had been severely reduced by the catastrophic impact of the Gold Rush era and its aftermath. Curtis's portraits of Maidu subjects are among the less frequently encountered examples of his California work, giving this image particular scarcity within the broader Curtis corpus.
Otila, as a named individual portrait, represents a direct and personal image from Curtis's documentation of a community in the midst of profound historical disruption. Printed on Dutch Van Gelder paper with the rich tonal depth characteristic of Curtis's finest photogravures, this is a distinguished example of both California Native American cultural heritage and American photographic history. From a Tucson private collection.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
