Edward S. Curtis

“Curtis created 40,000 to 50,000 negatives, he made 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of language and music, he did pioneering film footage, and he produced 2.5 million words of finished ethnographic text. It is an incredibly deep, rich body of work . . . [I]t’s absolutely clear that the Native people were active participants. They were co-creating with Curtis. When you look at the images and when you look at the openness, the vulnerability, the presence that people have when they are being photographed by Curtis, it’s
unique in history. You can see that the Native people are actively helping him create this record. Curtis changed the way an entire nation viewed its Native people. It’s quite amazing, and it is unparalleled in the nearly 180-year history of photography.”

—Cowboys & Indians
“A stunning piece of ethnography and artistry, One Hundred Masterworks is a testament to the history of Native Americans and to Curtis’s profound commitment to preserve for posterity their rich, complex lives and spirits.”


—The Boston Globe
“Minneapolis-based Christopher Cardozo has almost single-handedly rescued from oblivion the American Indian photographs of Edward Curtis, producing eight books and exhibitions that have been seen in more than 40 countries. He repeats his formula of sepia prints on cream paper in this handsome book.”

—StarTribune
“This gorgeous book . . . celebrates the late 19th- and early 20th-century photographer Edward S. Curtis, whose portraits of Native Americans helped garner respect a people largely disdained at that time in this country . . . [This] title showcases something quite special: his master prints, exquisite photographic items made for exhibition or sale, as distinct from the photogravure prints intended for publication that lacked the depth of the fine darkroom creations. This title succeeds at bringing the reader close to what it’s like to view the artist’s master prints in person. Excellent essays by Curtis expert Cardozo and historian, critic, and curator of photography A.D. Coleman discuss both Curtis’s work and his printmaking technique.”


—Library Journal
“It is not unprecedented, whether in this country or internationally, to see people at exhibition moved to tears while looking at his photographs.”
—The Daily Beast

“In the book, Cardoza has done a fantastic job of capturing why Curtis is an irreplaceable part of American cultural history.”
—The Daily Beast