Art of the Week

2016-Sep-4 Getting Water by Edward S. Curtis

2016-Sep-4 Getting Water by Edward S. Curtis

Artist: Edward S. Curtis (American, 1868-1952)
Title: Getting Water – Havasupai, plate #75
Date: 1903
Accession #: 2009.11.75
Medium: Photogravure on Dutch Van Gelder paper
Dimensions: sheet: 18 1/16 x 22 1/8 in., image: 11 ¾ x 15 11/16 in.
Acquired by: Dubuque Cultural Preservation Committee, an Iowa general partnership, consisting of Dr. Darryl K. Mozena, Jeffrey P. Mozena, Mark Falb, Timothy J. Conlon, and Dr. Randy Lengeling
Interesting fact about the Photographer: In 1899, Curtis was hired as one of two official photographers for an expedition to Alaska. Edward Henry Harriman, the railroad businessman who owned the Union Pacific Railroad, asked Curtis to document the beautifully rugged outdoors of Alaska. Harriman hoped that Curtis’ photos would act as a compliment and kind gesture to the Alaskan people, whom he hoped would agree in allowing a railroad to connect Alaska and Siberia. (from: Makepeace, Anne. Edward S. Curtis Coming to Light. Washington D.C.: National Geographic, 2002. Print.)

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