Who painted Portfolio I, Plate 1: The Vanishing Race-Navajo?

Portfolio I, Plate 1: The Vanishing Race-Navajo was painted by Edward S. Curtis in 1904.

Where can I see Portfolio I, Plate 1: The Vanishing Race-Navajo?

Portfolio I, Plate 1: The Vanishing Race-Navajo is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

Artwork

Portfolio I, Plate 1: The Vanishing Race-Navajo

Edward S. Curtis , 1904

Portfolio I, Plate 1: The Vanishing Race-Navajo is a work on paper by Edward S. Curtis. It dates from 1904 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edward S.

About this work

Overview

Edward S. Curtis’s photograph titled *The Vanishing Race‑Navajo* was produced in 1904 and is part of his Portfolio I, Plate 1 series. The image is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection. It depicts a nocturnal scene in which two riders on horseback travel along a rugged trail, set against a dark, mountainous horizon.

Subject & Meaning

The work’s title references the Navajo people, suggesting a commentary on their perceived decline at the turn of the twentieth century. The riders, clad in long, dark garments that merge with the surrounding shadows, evoke a sense of anonymity and loss, reinforcing the notion of a culture receding into obscurity.

Technique & Style

Curtis employs a pronounced chiaroscuro effect, juxtaposing stark illumination on the figures with deep, enveloping darkness in the landscape. This manipulation of light and shadow heightens the emotional intensity of the scene, creating a dramatic visual contrast that draws the viewer’s eye to the illuminated riders while the background recedes into near‑silence.

History & Provenance

Created during Curtis’s extensive documentation of Native American life, the photograph entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings as part of its early twentieth‑century acquisitions of photographic works. Its inclusion in Portfolio I reflects Curtis’s broader project to compile a visual record of Indigenous peoples, a venture that has shaped both photographic and ethnographic histories.