Póvi-Támuⁿ (“Flower Morning”) – San Ildefonso
Edward S. Curtis; Suffolk Engraving Co., Cambridge MA
Description
Curtis wrote in the caption to his portrait Flower Morning that 'the regular features of the comely Morning Flower are not exceptional, for most Tewa girls, and indeed most Pueblo girls, are not without attractiveness.' Because of her 'attractiveness,' however, Curtis posed her again as the subject of The Fruit Gatherer and of Girl and Jar.
(Lyman, The Vanishing Race, p. 132)
Subject Matter:
This image of a young woman from the Tewa tribe in the San Ildefonso reservation is from The North American Indian (1907 - 1930), a twenty-volume series created by Edward Curtis in order to document the lives of Native Americans in diverse regions of the Western United States. This limited edition volume was financially supported by J.P. Morgan, and promoted by Theodore Roosevelt. The resulting works have been criticized and celebrated for their portrayal of Native American life. Curtis often included anachronous props and clothing and presented rituals that had not been performed in years in order to support an idealized and romantic reading of a “vanishing race.”
Physical Description:
This is a portrait of a young woman against a plain, dark backdrop. She wears a draped cloth garment, strands of beadwork looped around her neck. Her hair is cut in a short style with blunt, thick bangs covering her forehead.
Usage Rights:
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