Vanishing Race - Navaho

Edward S. Curtis Vanishing Race - Navaho 1925 (negative)

Edward Sherrif Curtis' project to document Native Americans before they became extinct was an ambitious project from the outset. The frontispiece, Vanishing Race - Navaho, was Curtis' visual metaphor for his entire project. He searched for nearly four years for an image to illustrate this idea, but ultimately contrived the scene he sought. This image was immediately popular with the public. but was viewed with skepticism by scholars who doubted the authenticity of Curtis' methods of ‘documentation' on this and all of his photographs. Today, Curtis' photographs enjoy a nostalgic revival, but have had a lasting, and controversial influence on how Native Americans are viewed.