Wednesday, September 16, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
‘Curtis Fever’ sweeps the High Desert
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Over a century ago, a
well-known studio photog-
rapher from Seattle named
Edward S. Curtis undertook
a project of monumental pro-
portion and importance. He
set out to capture the world of
the Native Americans west of
the Mississippi River, includ-
ing British Columbia and
Alaska, before their way of
life changed forever.
Curtis was 32 years old
with a family and a suc-
cessful portrait photography
business when, in the sum-
mer of 1900, he encountered
American Indian culture
relatively untouched by con-
tact with the “white man’s”
world. This watershed expe-
rience changed the direction
and purpose of his life as
he determined to document
the everyday life of Native
Americans, which was begin-
ning to seriously decline.
In order to accomplish this
herculean task, he needed
financing and people to help
pack in all of his equip-
ment, including his 60-pound
Century-brand camera and
glass plates on which the
images would be captured.
J.P. Morgan agreed to pro-
vide financing for the expedi-
tions as long as Curtis agreed
to produce outstanding books
containing his photographs
and text.
The story of Curtis’s odys-
sey and the resultant 20-vol-
ume set of books, titled “The
North American Indian,” are
the subject of “Curtis Fever”
— coordinated talks, film
showings, a poetry reading,
author presentations, and
exhibits of Curtis’s photo-
graphs occurring throughout
Central Oregon through the
end of October.
What Curtis expected to
take five to seven years to
complete spanned a quarter
of a century. It cost him his
family, his health, and his
financial security. Measured
in today’s dollars, it cost $35
million to complete the proj-
ect. A complete set of the rare
20 volumes today would sell
for over a million dollars.
A number of the complete
sets are in private and public
collections in the U.S. and
Europe. One is in the vault of
the High Desert Museum.
The full set contained
more than 2,200 original
photographs, printed in pho-
togravure, and nearly 4,000
pages of anthropological text
including transcriptions of
language and music. There
were also supplemental
bound portfolios, each con-
taining 36 oversize gravures
on 18x22-inch etching stock.
Over the last several
decades there has been a
surge of interest in Curtis
the man, and his work. What
started out in Bend as a col-
lector wanting to offer for
sale some original Curtis
prints through Atelier 6000,
has become a two-month-
long exploration and celebra-
tion of this unique individual
and his invaluable contribu-
tion to the fields of anthropol-
ogy and ethnography.
The High Desert Museum
has on display its com-
plete set of the “The North
American Indian.” They also
have an exhibit of prints that
depict tribes from the Oregon
high desert region.
The museum will also
present “In the Land of the
Head Hunters,” Curtis’s
feature-length, silent film
made in 1914 to showcase
the Kwakiutl of Vancouver
Island. The restored film
includes a rendition of the
original orchestral score that
Curtis commissioned from
John J. Braham. The film will
be shown October 19 at 7
p.m. It is necessary to RSVP
to 541-382-4754.
A6 Studio and Gallery
has a two-month exhibit of
more than 50 of Curtis’ origi-
nal photogravures, offering
intimate views of daily life
among our region’s native
peoples at the turn of the cen-
tury. Every Saturday through
October, at 4 p.m., A6 will
offer guided exhibit tours for
$6. Self-guided tours are free
and available every day.
B e n d f i l m w i l l o ff e r
two showings of the 2000
Sundance documentary
“Coming to Light: Edward
S. Curtis and the North
American Indians,” one
at Tim Pan Theater on
September 28 and another
at the Madras Performing
Arts Center on October 3.
The film tells the story of
the life of Edward Curtis, the
creation of his monumental
work, and his changing views
of the people he set out to
document. Descendants of
Curtis’s subjects tell stories
about their ancestors in the
photographs and share their
own perspectives.
The Deschutes Public
Library Foundation pres-
ents Author! Author! with
Timothy Egan, the Pulitzer
Prize-winning reporter
and National Book Award-
winning author of seven
books, including “Short
Nights of the Shadow-
Catcher — The Epic Life
and Immortal Photographs
of Edward Curtis.” Egan
will appear on October 1 at
7 p.m. at Bend High School.
Admission is $25 and tick-
ets are available at www.
dplfoundation.org.
Two other presentations at
the downtown Bend library
include Justine Lowry’s look
at “Edward Curtis Through
Native Eyes” on October
7 at 6 p.m. Lowery is part-
time faculty and professor of
Native American Art History.
She will explore contempo-
rary Native American artistic
responses to Curtis’s photo-
graphic works.
Second Sunday at the
Bend library on October 11 at
2 p.m., will feature Elizabeth
Woody, a member of the
Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs, who will read from
her work. Her poetry reflects
her close ties with her fam-
ily, the natural world, and her
people, who she portrays with
humanity and sympathy.
For information on any
of these events check online
at www.dplfoundation.org,
www.atelier6000.org, www.
highdesertmuseum.org, and
www.tinpantheater.com.