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Lot 2

Edward S. Curtis
(1868-1952)
Cañon de Chelley

30 June – 1 July 2021, 16:00 PDT
Los Angeles

Sold for US$62,812.50 inc. premium

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Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)

Cañon de Chelley, 1904
Oversized orotone; signed and 'LA' copyright, credit, date and notation in the negative; caption label affixed to the original Curtis Studio frame backing.
17 x 22in (43.2 x 55.9cm); original Curtis Studio frame

Footnotes

Literature
Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian: The Complete Portfolios, Taschen, 1997, Vol. I, p. 58
Cardozo, Edward Curtis: One Hundred Masterworks, Delmonico Books/ Prestel, 2015, p. 53 and back cover

This oversized orotone of one of Edward Curtis's most important images Cañon de Chelly is the actual work that Edward Curtis displayed above the fireplace of his home in Santa Fe Springs, California. A Curtis Family photograph in the collection shows Edward, his beloved daughter Beth, her husband Manford "Mag" Magnuson and friends standing in front of the fireplace with this orotone clearly visible in the background. This work, reproduced here, is being sold as part of lot 154.

A wonderfully scenic spot is this in northeastern Arizona, in the heart of Navajo country - one of their strongholds, in fact. Cañon de Chelley exhibits evidence of having been occupied by a considerable number of people in former times, as in every niche at every side are seen the cliff-perched ruins of former villages.
EDWARD CURTIS

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