"Homeward" E.S. Curtis Goldtone

After Edward Curtis (1868-1952 Washington) "Homeward" 1898 Centennial orotone photograph 8" x 10" image. Centennial edition produced by the Curtis Centennial Project Inc. in 1999. Plate signed lower left. Ornate framing 11" x 13". Excellent condition. This was one of Curtis' earliest Native American photographs and also one of his earliest award winning images. Thus, this photograph, taken in Puget Sound, is historically one of Curtis' most important and played a key role in the evolution of his career. This canoe was made from a single dugout tree trunk. The dramatic qualities of the clouds and sky are vividly brought out by the goldtone process. Tag on back reads: This original Goldtone photograph is hand-produced from a vintage negative by Edward S. Curtis. It was printed by the Curtis Centennial Project, Inc. in 1999. Edard Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) was one of this country’s preeminent photographers and created a body of work that is absolutely unparallel in the history of photography and ethnography. Curtis was a pioneer of the Goldtone (or orotone) process and its most ardent proponent. He wrote of the process: The ordinary photographic print, however good, lacks depth, lacks transparency, or more strictly speaking, lacks translucency. We all know how beautiful the stone and pebbles are in a limpid brook of the forest where the water absorbs the blue of the sky and the green of the foliage. Yet when we take the same iridescent pebbles from the water and dry them they are dull and lifeless. So it is with the orthodox photographic print, but in the orotone all the translucency is retained, and they are as full of life and sparkle as an opal. Curtis Centennial Project has itself pioneered many new techniques and processes in producing its Goldtones and is now, after over three years of experimentation, able to produce Goldtones that are unparalleled in their beauty, consistency and archival stability. Title: Homeward Edition Number 17/25 Print Size 8 x 10 Negative Date 1890 Print Date 1999