Edward Sheriff Curtis (Phaidon 55's)

"Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) is best known for his spectacular documentary record of the Native American tribes in the first decades of the twentieth century. His portrayal of their ceremonies and daily work, mesmerizing close-up portraits, and majestic landscapes of the American West were intended to serve as an anthropological resource for a "vanishing race". However, Curtis's true success lies in his powerful collection of faces, time and place, and in photographs marked by their dramatic lighting, sensitivity and beauty."--Jacket.