Boughs for the Alter, Cheyenne
Edward Curtis
American, 1868–1954
1911
A 1911 photogravure by Edward Curtis showing two horsemen draped in leafy boughs, made as part of Curtis’s effort to record scenes associated with the Cheyenne people.
The image immediately registers as hushed and ritualistic—the riders nearly disappear into a tumble of dark foliage against a wide, pale sky so that their human presence emerges slowly and quietly from the landscape.
As part of Curtis’s vast project to document Indigenous communities, this photograph helped preserve visual records at a time of rapid change while also shaping romanticized narratives about Native American life that continue to be debated by historians and photographers.
Medium
Photogravure
Dimensions
5 × 7 1/4" (12.7 × 18.4 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Purchase
Accession
174.1972
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
