Edward S. Curtis: Unpublished Alaska, The Lost Photographs
Never before seen photographs from Curtis’s final journey
Edward S. Curtis, Rocky Cliff at Beach
On June 8, 1927, Edward Sherriff Curtis, accompanied by daughter Beth Curtis Magnuson and newly employed Stewart C. Eastwood, set sail on the steamer ship Victoria towards Nome, Alaska. The purpose of their voyage was to complete the photography and research for the final 20th volume of Curtis’s masterwork, The North American Indian. Begun in 1906, The North American Indian was the defining passion of Curtis’s life, an attempt to record, in writing and photography, the lives of the Indigenous peoples of the Southwestern, Western, and Northwestern United States. This trip, planned for a single season, would be the final voyage to complete his epic quest. Curtis took hundreds of images on his journey, only part of which were ultimately published. The rest sat, unseen, passed down through the family until today.
Edward S. Curtis, Diomede Mother and Child
Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska, The Lost Photographs presents, for the first time to the public, images made from the unused original negatives. Over 100 images will comprise the exhibition, along with excerpts from the personal journals of Curtis and his daughter Beth that describe their often harrowing adventures in the Bering Sea. This exhibition accompanies the 2021 publication of the complete journals by Curtis’s descendants in Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska. Join us in exploring this unique glimpse into the making of an artistic and historic masterpiece.
Unpublished Alaska
Opening Presentation featuring Curtis Legacy Foundation board panelists
Underwritten by
Media Support
