Lot 313
313
EDWARD S. CURTIS

Details
EDWARD S. CURTIS

Bear's Belly - Arikara

Large-format photogravure from The North American Indian, Portfolio 5 printed on tissue. 1908. Signed in ink by Curtis, letterpress credit, title, date, Plate 150 and printer's credit in the margin. 15¾ x 11¾in, tipped to the original vellum mount.
Literature
The North American Indian 1907-30, Portfolio 5, pl. 150; Native Nations, p. 101; Visions of a Vanishing Race, p. 157; The North American Indian (Aperture), p. 40; The Life and Times of a Shadow Catcher, p. 123; Curtis' Western Indians, p. 108.

Lot Essay

Curtis described him as a member of the medicine fraternity, wrapped in his sacred bear-skin. At the age of nineteen, he joined Custer's scouts at Fort Abraham Lincoln, having been told by the old men of the tribe that such a course was the surest way to gain honors.