Lummi Type

Art Historical Context

Edward S. Curtis's *Lummi Type* (1899), a striking photogravure from plate 320 of *The American Indian, Volume 9* ( 1913), captures dignified presence of a Lummi man from the Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest. Photographed during Curtis's early fieldwork in Washington state, this image exemplifies his lifelong quest to document Native American cultures he feared were disappearing due to assimilation and modernization. Part of his monumental 20-volume project, supported by patrons like J.P. Morgan, the series combined over 2,000 photographs with ethnographic text. The photogravure technique—a finely detailed intaglio printing process—allowed Curtis to reproduce the subtle tonal gradations and textures of his original platinum prints with exceptional richness, making these works accessible beyond platinum's rarity. At 37.4 × 26.3 cm on a larger mount, *Lummi Type* invites viewers to contemplate the subject's direct gaze and traditional attire, evoking the Lummi's deep ties to salmon fishing and maritime life. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Photography and Media department, this piece holds enduring cultural importance as a primary visual record of Lummi identity at the turn of the century, blending artistry with urgent preservation.

About the Artist

Edward S. Curtis · 1868–1952

Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952) was an American photographer and ethnographer whose monumental project "The North American Indian" — a forty-volume illustrated work documenting over eighty Native American tribes — is one of the most ambitious photographic enterprises ever undertaken. Born near Whitewater, Wisconsin, he grew up in Minnesota and established a portrait studio in Seattle, Washington, in ...