See the Work

Where to experience Edward S. Curtis's photographs in person, and resources to learn more

Permanent Collections

Institutions holding Edward S. Curtis's original prints and negatives, plus the public-domain archive these images are drawn from.

Source Archive

Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

The Prints & Photographs Division holds the FSA/OWI collection — thousands of Edward S. Curtis's Depression-era photographs. All are in the public domain and available online.

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Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

Holds approximately 2,500 Curtis photographs as silver-gelatin prints, many corresponding to plates in The North American Indian; the collection is marked 'no known restrictions on publication.'

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Northwestern University Libraries

Evanston, Illinois

Holds and has fully digitized a complete set of The North American Indian, all twenty volumes and twenty portfolios, freely accessible online.

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The Morgan Library & Museum

New York City

Repository connected to J. Pierpont Morgan's patronage of the project, holding sets and materials related to The North American Indian.

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Smithsonian Institution

Washington, D.C.

Holds Curtis photographs and related materials across its collections, including the National Anthropological Archives and the National Museum of the American Indian.

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Peabody Essex Museum

Salem, Massachusetts

Holds a notable group of large-format Curtis prints from his early fieldwork (c. 1905-1906).

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Major Exhibitions

Notable retrospectives and exhibitions of Edward S. Curtis's work.

1971
solo

Edward S. Curtis exhibition

The Morgan Library & Museum, New York

An exhibition that helped renew public and institutional interest in Curtis's photographs, drawing on the Morgan's historic connection to the project J. Pierpont Morgan financed.

1972
solo

Edward Curtis photographs exhibition

Philadelphia Museum of Art

An early-1970s museum presentation of Curtis's work during the decade of his rediscovery.

2000s
traveling

Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and The North American Indian

Touring exhibition (multiple U.S. venues)

A traveling exhibition of prints from The North American Indian that brought Curtis's imagery to audiences across the United States.

2015
traveling

Mingled Visions: Images from The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis

Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, Washington (and other venues)

A touring exhibition of original photogravures from The North American Indian, including the early 1890s portrait of Kikisoblu (Princess Angeline).

Books & Films About Edward S. Curtis

Essential resources for understanding Edward S. Curtis's life and work.

Essential Reading

The North American Indian Edward S. Curtis; edited by Frederick Webb Hodge; foreword by Theodore Roosevelt, 1907

Curtis's monumental twenty-volume work, issued between 1907 and 1930 with twenty accompanying portfolios of photogravures, documenting peoples of more than eighty Native nations through photographs, ethnographic text, vocabularies, and song transcriptions.

The North American Indians: A Selection of Photographs by Edward S. Curtis Edward S. Curtis; introduction by Joseph Epes Brown, 1972

An early reprint selection that helped revive popular interest in Curtis's photographs during the 1970s rediscovery of his work.

The Master Builders: A History of the Astonishing Life of Edward Sheriff Curtis (Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher) Timothy Egan, 2012

A widely read biography, 'Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis,' which won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction.

Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian Project in the Field Mick Gidley, 1998

A scholarly account of how the project was organized, financed, and produced, drawing on archival records.

Films & Other Resources

Coming to Light: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indians Anne Makepeace, 2000

A documentary film examining Curtis's life and work, including the perspectives of descendants of the people he photographed.

In the Land of the Head Hunters Edward S. Curtis, 1914

Curtis's silent feature film made with Kwakwaka'wakw participants on the coast of British Columbia; later restored and rereleased as 'In the Land of the War Canoes.' Praised for its imagery but criticized for staged and inaccurate elements.

Online Resources

Library of Congress FSA Collection Free access to thousands of digitized public-domain photographs Library of Congress - Edward S. Curtis Collection The Library of Congress collection of Curtis photographs, with rights information and guidance to approach the materials with respect for the cultures depicted. Northwestern University - The North American Indian (digitized) A complete, freely accessible digitization of all twenty volumes and portfolios of The North American Indian. Smithsonian - Edward Sheriff Curtis Smithsonian overview of Curtis's life, project, and the cultural questions surrounding his work. The Morgan Library & Museum - Curtis, Morgan, and The North American Indian The Morgan's account of J. Pierpont Morgan's patronage and the making of the volumes. Wikipedia - Edward S. Curtis Encyclopedic overview of Curtis's life, the North American Indian project, and its criticism.

Explore the Archive

Browse 1274 Edward S. Curtis photographs from the Library of Congress.

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