Edward S. Curtis, Apache Reaper, 1906, platinum print, 6 x 8"
Booth Museum Left: Edward S. Curtis, Qahatika Girl, pigment print, 46 x 34"
COURTESY BOOTH MUSEUM
Edward S. Curtis, Dusty Dress, ca. 1910, photogravure, 15 x 12"
By Her Hand Edward S. Curtis, Woman and Child–Nunivak, 1928, pigment print, 20 x 16"
celebrating Native American women by Ash le y M. Big ge rs Edward S. Curtis, Zuni Ornaments, ca. 1903, photogravure, 7 x 5"
Left: Edward S. Curtis, Papago Girl, ca. 1907, photogravure, 15 x 12"
Beaded doll, Sioux, ca. 1880, private collection, 11 x 6 x 2"
Edward S. Curtis, Blanket Weaver, 1904, pigment print, 34 x 46"
Blanket Weaver. The Basket Maker. Taos Water Girls. These iconic and lesser-known Edward S. Curtis images grace the walls of the Booth Western Art Museum. Fittingly known for its Western art collection, the museum has drawn upon the holdings of area collectors for By Her Hand: Native American Women, Their Art, and The Photographs of Edward S. Curtis, a traveling photography exhibition that pairs Curtis’s images with Native American artwork and objects from local museums. Because collectors are contributing the objects, visitors have a rare opportunity to view these examples of pottery, clothing, dolls, and other art. “Many people will be surprised to know how deep the collections are,” says Seth Hopkins, executive director of the Booth Museum. The collectors have contributed objects such as a bird effigy pot by the Piman People, Sioux children’s moccasins along with a doll bedecked in white beads, and a polychrome jar and canteen from San Ildefonso and Cochiti Pueblos respectively. Although not the exact objects seen in the Curtis images, the items reflect the general style of the objects depicted in intimate portraits like Mohave Potter, in which a woman works pottery in her lap, or Painting a Hat—Nakoaktok, in which a woman paints a straw hat with the British Columbia tribe’s designs. The exhibition demonstrates “the importance of women in society,” Hopkins says. “They cared about children and family, as well as about beauty and the quality of well-made things.”
The museum has designed the exhibit to be immersive. To pair with The Weaver, a wide shot depicting a woman seated before a loom with the arch of a branch in the background, the museum has re-created a vertical loom. The image, enlarged on a scrim behind it, creates an appealing vignette. The museum has also built out a workshop environment and a trading post scene to give a sense of the creative process. Of course, Curtis, the ethnologist and photographer who captured more than 2,000 images of the American West and Native American peoples, is an engaging draw as well. “The magic of his images within Western art is that it is one of the more emotionally driven and thought-provoking bodies of work. When you pair it with objects, it’s stunning visually, aesthetically, and emotionally,” Hopkins observes. During the show’s opening, visitors may join a gallery walk with Eric and Lynda Sermon, who have been collectors for the past 40 years and were guest curators for the object portion of the exhibition, followed by a panel discussion featuring the curator of photography at Atlanta’s High Museum, Brett Abbott, who will speak about Curtis’s career and work. By Her Hand: Native American Women, Their Art, and the Photographs of Edward S. Curtis, August 13–November 20, opening gallery walk August 20, 4:30–5:30 pm, reception 5:30–7 pm, panel presentation 7 pm, Booth Western Art Museum, 501 Museum Drive, Cartersville, Georgia, 770-387-1300, boothmuseum.org Left: Woven basket, Chemehuevi, ca. 1910, private collection, 8 x 8 x 8"
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