Portfolio I, Plate 39: Alhkidókihi-Navaho

Curtis rendered this image using photogravure, a process that transfers photographic tones onto copper plates for printing. The figures are outlined in bold black against a warm, light brown background, creating strong contrast. Forms are reduced to essential lines—square bases, straight limbs, minimal facial features—emphasizing symbolic presence over naturalism. The plain backdrop isolates the figures, directing focus to their arrangement and symbolic details.

This plate was produced as part of Curtis’s monumental The North American Indian, a multi-volume publication initiated in 1900 with financial backing from J.P. Morgan. Plate 39 was printed in 1904 during the early phase of the project. It entered The Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection through documented acquisition, likely as part of a complete set of the portfolio, and has remained in public custody since.

Curtis’s work emerged during a period of intense cultural displacement for Native communities, as federal policies sought assimilation. His images, while often romanticized, aimed to preserve visual records of traditions perceived as vanishing. This plate reflects his tendency to prioritize aesthetic composition and symbolic representation over ethnographic precision, blending observation with interpretive stylization.

Though later criticized for idealization and lack of Indigenous collaboration, Curtis’s portfolio remains a significant historical resource. Plate 39 exemplifies his distinctive visual language—stylized, monumental, and atmospheric. Today, it is studied both for its technical achievement in photogravure and as a contested artifact of early ethnographic representation, prompting ongoing dialogue about cultural authority and visual ethics.