Nez Percé Sweat-Lodge

Accession Number
1987/1.205

Title
Nez Percé Sweat-Lodge

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)

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

Subject matter
This image a Nez Percé sweat lodge 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.”

Physical Description
A photograph of a landscape with a small round structure, made with a frame and cloth cover. The structure is in the lower right foreground. In the mid-ground is a rocky landscape with large, grassy hills in the background.

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
Plateau Native American styles
hills
landscapes (environments)
modern and contemporary art
mountains
rocks (landforms)
sweathouses
tent

& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved