This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/26/2024
CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (American, 1868-1952). Son of the Desert - Navaho. 1904. Platinum print. Signed in ink lower right. Blindstamp copyrighted 1904 E.S. Curtis, lower left. Numbered 182-04 in negative. Image appeared as Plate 32 in Curtis’ Portfolio 1, “The North American Indian, Vol. 1. The Apache. The Jicarillas. The Navaho.” Image 16 1/8 x 11 7/8”; frame 30 ½ x 24 ½”. Minor toning from mat around perimeter. Evidence of ghosting verso. Image is bright and crisp with deep tones; presents very well. Curtis describes the subject in the image in Volume 1: “In the early morning this boy, as if springing from the earth itself, came to the author’s desert camp. Indeed, he seemed a part of the very desert. His eyes bespeak all of the curiosity, all of the wonder of his primitive mind striving to grasp the meaning of the strange things about him.” Platinum prints constitute less than half of one percent of extant Curtis prints. All proceeds benefit the Howard L. Gottlieb Foundation, which has been supporting nonprofit organizations in the fine arts since 2015.