The Apache

About this piece

Edward Curtis photogravure for sale: “The Apache,” an original print of one of the most recognized images from Curtis’s series The North American Indian. It is an impression taken from the historic copper plates themselves, not a later reproduction, and carries the rich, atmospheric tones and depth of shadow that collectors prize in authentic Curtis work. The photogravure process pressed each print directly from an etched copper plate, a slow, ink-and-paper craft that yields velvety blacks and luminous mid-tones no ordinary photograph can match. Here it lends “The Apache” a gravity and quiet befitting one of Curtis’s signature portraits, and the 23” x 19” format lets that full tonal range breathe. Sourced from one of only four known volumes made from Curtis’s original plates, it is a true collector’s piece, an Edward Curtis original print offered as museum-quality early twentieth-century photography and an enduring portrait of Apache life.