Photographer: Edward S. Curtis, 1868-1952
During the early years of the American frontier, painters such as Charles Bird King and George Catlin and ethnologists such as Thomas McKinney did much to preserve knowledge of Native tribes and cultures among White Americans. As the country expanded west and photography became practical, photographers also carried on this important work. What King and Catlin were to the painting world, Edward S. Curtis would become to the world of photography. Curtis was born in Whitewater, Wisconsin in 1868. The family were farmers and struggled with constant poverty. When Curtis was still young, they moved to Minnesota, where Curtis' grandfather ran a grocery store. Edward Curtis remained in school until the 6th grade, but had to leave. Soon after, he built his own camera out of odds and ends. By the age of 17, he'd become apprenticed to a photographer in Minneapolis. By 1887, the family moved again, to Seattle, Washington. Curtis took a photogr...