Catching Shadows on The Plains – Edward Curtis Exhibition

Born in Wisconsin in 1868, Edward S. Curtis developed an early interest in photography. At the age of twelve, he built his own camera using a lens his father brought home from the Civil War. By the age of seventeen, he began his formal apprenticeship in photography. Within three short years, he launched his own studio, Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers. However, his big break came in 1906, when he partnered with J.P. Morgan on a lifelong project that would make national headlines—The North American Indian.