About the event
Paul Unks, founder and owner of Mountain Hawk Fine Art, will present a lecture on the life and times of renowned 19th century photographer Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indians. There will be a slide show featuring 100 master images of the Southwest, Plains and Northwest Nations set to music composed and performed by Native Americans. The presentation will cover the challenging circumstances under which Curtis produced his incredible body of work, his techniques and importance to the evolution of photography, and his contributions to a greater understanding and appreciation of Native Americans.
6:30pm-6:50pm: Reception with light bites & select drinks, included in ticket price
7pm-8pm: Presentation with Paul Unks
8pm-8:30pm: Exhibition viewing and mingle with Paul Unks
Beginning in the late 1800s and continuing over the next thirty years, Edward Sheriff Curtis took over 40,000 images and recorded rare ethnographic information from over eighty American Indian tribal groups, ranging from the Eskimo or Inuit people of the far north to the Hopi people of the Southwest.
E.S. Curtis is a singularly important figure in U.S. Western history both culturally and artistically. Braving unpredictable weather, bad or nonexistent roads, limited funding, and other challenges, he succeeded in capturing not only a visual record of this rapidly-vanishing way of life but the cultural, historical, linguistic, and biographical aspects as well.
During Curtis’ lifetime he planned to do a limited edition series of some 500 of his most important images but was only able to complete half that in his lifetime. Presenter Paul Unks, along with archivists at the University of Denver and other places, is working to complete Curtis’ intention with historical integrity.