Who painted Portfolio XVII, Plate 597: San Juan Pottery?

Portfolio XVII, Plate 597: San Juan Pottery was painted by Edward S. Curtis in 1905.

Where can I see Portfolio XVII, Plate 597: San Juan Pottery?

Portfolio XVII, Plate 597: San Juan Pottery is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

Artwork

Portfolio XVII, Plate 597: San Juan Pottery

Edward S. Curtis , 1905

Portfolio XVII, Plate 597: San Juan Pottery is a work on paper by Edward S. Curtis. It dates from 1905 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Portfolio XVII, Plate 597, titled “San Juan Pottery,” is a black‑and‑white study executed in 1905 by photographer Edward S.

About this work

Overview

The work belongs to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection and forms part of Curtis’s broader documentary series of Native American material culture.

Portfolio XVII, Plate 597, titled “San Juan Pottery,” is a black‑and‑white study executed in 1905 by photographer Edward S. Curtis. The image records an informal arrangement of earthenware vessels—shallow dishes, tall jars, and assorted bowls—displayed together on a flat surface. The work belongs to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection and forms part of Curtis’s broader documentary series of Native American material culture.

Subject & Meaning

The composition captures a modest assemblage of utilitarian pottery associated with the San Juan region, offering a visual inventory of the forms and functions that shaped daily life. By presenting the objects without human presence, Curtis emphasizes the material culture itself, inviting viewers to consider the craftsmanship and cultural context embedded in each vessel.

Technique & Style

Curtis employs a stark chiaroscuro approach, using the interplay of light and shadow to delineate the pots’ volumes and surface irregularities. The absence of color forces attention to texture, edge, and tonal contrast, allowing the roughness of the clay and the subtle gradations of form to emerge with clarity.

History & Provenance

Created during Curtis’s early fieldwork period, the plate was later incorporated into his extensive photographic portfolio documenting Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest. The Cleveland Museum of Art acquired the print as part of its effort to preserve early twentieth‑century documentary photography, where it remains on view as a reference for scholars of ethnographic visual records.