Edward S. Curtis
Born 1968 and Died 1952 (84 years old
American photographer who documented the American West and the Native Americans.
When he was 17 he worked under a photographer. During that time he bought a camera and also worked with Rasmus Rothi in a studio where he paid $150 for 50% of the studio in Washington state. He then left and worked with another photographer Thimas Guptill.
1895 he met and photographed Princess Angeline also known as the Chief Sealths daughter, This was his first portrait of a Native American.
1898 he had 3 photos selected for an exhibit by the National Photographic Society. He received a gold medal at the show.
He was appointed the Harriman Alaska Expedition photographer of 1899.
1906 JP Morgan gave him $75,000 ( todays money thats over 2 million) to produce a series of 1500 photos of Native Americans. The money would be paid out over 5 years and it was only for use of support not for writing, editing or producing the work. He hired help such as a writer to keep record or people and things, General assistance with logistics and fieldwork and an anthropologist that was employed by the Smithsonian Institute. Wax cylinder recordings of over 80 tripes which was over 10,000 and over 40,000 photographs were taken.
Around 1922 he moved to LA and opened a photo studio. He assisted Cecil B Demille with the film The 10 Commandments.
1924 he sold his rights to a motion picture “in the land of the head hunters” to the American Museum of Natural History. He was paid $1500 for print and the original camera negative which cost him over $20,000 to make.
Near the end of his life he had it hard, He was arrested for not paying alimony, he did not see his kids for over 13 years, He sold his rights to the JP Morgan project. The Morgan estate sold the rights and everything published and non-published works to Charles E. Lauriat Company for $1000 plus a % of royalties.
