Edward S. Curtis
(1868 - 1952)
The Vanishing Race - Navaho, 1904
large platinum print
copyright blind stamp lower left: COPYRIGHTED 1904 BY E.S. CURTIS
in negative lower left: 301-04
negative date: 1904, print date: 1904

"The Vanishing Race” was Curtis’ signature piece. It was the visual metaphor for the core conceptual underpinning of Curtis’ entire thirty-year project i.e., that Native Americans, as a culture at least, were vanishing. It became Curtis’ over-arching goal to create a record of them and their world before they disappeared forever. Curtis searched for an image to embody this idea for nearly four years before creating “The Vanishing Race”. A century ago, it was by far and away Curtis’ most popular single image. Today it still remains a highly sought-after classic.
12 x 16 in. (30.48 x 40.64 cm.), Mount: 15 7/8 x 19 7/8 in. (40.32 x 50.48 cm.)
Edward S. Curtis Studio, Seattle
Private Collection(s)
The Christopher G. Cardozo Collection, 2008

Literature:
The North American Indian (1907-1930), Portfolio 1, Plate 1.
Native Nations, Bulfinch Press publisher, 1993, p. 123.
Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Simon & Schuster, 2000, p. 188.
Edward S. Curtis: The Great Warriors, Bulfinch Press, 2004, p. 7.
Edward S. Curtis One Hundred Masterworks, Delmonico Books/Prestel Publishing, 2015, p. 91, 166.

This print is in excellent condition overall. There is very minor, scattered surface rubbing at the margin edges, and only noticeable in strong direct light. There is minor, scattered silvering at the left margin edge of the print recto, which is typical of Curtis platinum prints of this era. The vintage mounts are in very good condition overall. The larger mount has been trimmed, and shows light, scattered fading at the margins. VERSO: There is hinging tape remnants at the upper margins of the larger mount. The mount recto is not affected.

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