Accession Number
1987/1.197

Title
At the Site of Wahlála-Cascade

Artist(s)
Edward S. Curtis

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1910

Medium & Support
photogravure on paper

Dimensions
9 3/16 in x 12 in (23.34 cm x 30.48 cm);14 3/8 in x 19 3/8 in (36.51 cm x 49.21 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Kenyon

Subject matter
This image of a Native American site on the Columbia River is from The North American Indian (1907 - 1930), a twenty-volume series created by Edward Curtis in order to document the lives of Native Americans in diverse regions of the Western United States. This limited edition volume was financially supported by J.P. Morgan, and promoted by Theodore Roosevelt. The resulting works have been criticized and celebrated for their portrayal of Native American life. Curtis often included anachronous props and clothing and presented rituals that had not been performed in years in order to support an idealized and romantic reading of a “vanishing race.” He recorded and documented a wide range of imagery and information, presenting them in the tradition of ethnography.

Physical Description
A landscape view of a river. In the foreground, reeds are visible growing in the water. On the far bank a forest of trees frame the horizon line.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Native American
Plants
cascades (water features)
flora (plants)
forests (plant communities)
grass
lakes
modern and contemporary art
rivers
trees