Native American Portraits

By Nancy Hathaway

Book Overview

Over one hundred photographs from the renowned Kurt Koegler collection of Native American portraits taken between the end of the Civil War and the end of World War I are featured in this powerful compendium depicting a proud and defeated people. Native American Portraits presents a factual, anecdotal, and visual history of the evolving artistry and technology of a century of photographers, as well as of the tribes whose vanishing trappings and traditions they sought to capture with their craft. The photographers -- William Henry Jackson, Camillus Fly, Carleton Watkins, and Lee Moorhouse, among scores of others -- were intrepid adventurers, fiercely committed to their work, who hauled hundreds of pounds of photographic equipment across the mountains and faced many dangers; their subjects -- including such important warriors as Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, Red Cloud, Geronimo, and Chief Gall (who led the Indians to victory against Custer) -- appear venerable, dignified, and beaten. Fascinating and provocative, this richly illustrated and painstakingly annotated volume documents the intersection of photography in its infancy and Native American culture in precipitous decline.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877017573
• ISBN13: 9780877017578
• Release Date: October 1990
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 10.3" x 9.8"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Native American Portraits by Hathaway

This book documents important Native Americans from the 1860s into the first quarter of the 20th century. The pictures are topical and realistic. They depict both the poverty and the greatness of Native Americans. For instance, Tim O'Sullivan depicts an 1867 scene. Famous Native Americans shown include: - "One Who Forbids His Home" (English translation) - "One Afraid of the Eagle" (English translation) - Chief Ano Ylosk - Great Wolf - and many others too numerous to list here The work would be an important cultural research document for a wide constituency of scholars in the American educational experience. This acquisition would be a perfect gift for the student in your house. It is well-researched and topical.

A Portrait Artist's Dream Book

While this book would be of interest to anyone attracted to Native American life in the late 19th Century, it would be particularly invaluable to any artist who wishes to practice drawing or painting fascinating portraits. I like that it shows so many men with hodge-podge combinations of traditional Indian clothing mixed with Cavalry uniforms and "modern" 19th Century Western clothes. Another aspect of this book I really like is that it shows so many women, maidens and children. One classic photo is of the frowning "squaw" with a sparkle-eyed, smiling baby behind her shoulder! In short, anyone aspiring to be a (or already a professional) Western artist of Native Americans should have this book as a reference.

A Beautiful, Moving Book

I loved Native American Portraits. Hathaway captured beautifully the turbulence and tragedy of the time and the photographs are truly distinctive.

a great tribute

I found this book wandering through B-Daltons about a year ago. It is by far a work of a master. The pictures featured in this book are ones that I have not been able to find anywhere else. Nancy Hathaway has put together a great tribute book. I love the pictures within the pages of this book, it's a great gift for yourself or a friend interested in Anthropology, Native American Studies, or just for the coffee table. I LOVE THIS BOOK. I look at it everyday and truly have some favorite pictures!