THE HOPI COLLECTION
Hopi Girl of the Village of Walpi, 1900 Platinum 15 3/4” x 10 15/16”
“I like a man who attempts the impossible.” —J.P. Morgan
This unique Curtis collection of twenty-one vintage prints and objects was assembled over a twenty-five year period by Curtis expert Christopher Cardozo. The collection contains a number of rare or unique items and would be impossible to recreate today. All items in this unprecedented collection are from Curtis’ extensive work with the Hopi tribe. Curtis was particularly close with the Hopi and was the first Caucasian to be inducted into the Hopi snake priesthood. Curtis first visited the Hopi in 1900, during his first self-financed fieldtrip. He spent more time with the Hopi than any other tribal group and visited them on various occasions until 1921. Curtis devoted an entire Volume and Portfolio of The North American Indian, to the Hopi. The Volume and Portfolio comprise over one hundred photographs and over two hundred pages of ethnographic text and transcriptions of language and music. In Mr. Cardozo’s thirty-eight years of collecting this is the only collection he has created that focuses on a single tribal group. The collection contains five different forms/states of Curtis prints. Highlights include platinum prints, rare silver prints of several iconic images, and a group of unique, original plate covers. Also included are two rare Curtis Border prints.
On Cover: A Walpi Man (Meator – A Hopi Chief), 1900 Platinum 15 5/8” x 9 1/2”
The most important, and valuable print in the collection is a beautiful, large format platinum print of “A Walpi Man”. This is one of Curtis’ most iconic and sought-after platinum prints. Another large format platinum print is entitled “Hopi Girl, of the Village of Walpi”. This image was never printed as a photogravure, and this may be the only print that exists of this negative. The collection contains a beautiful small format platinum print, of “Chaiwa- Tewa”. The collection contains two extremely rare oversized gelatin silver prints of two of Curtis’ most well known Hopi images: “The Potter” and “The Potter Mixing Clay”. Because of the inclusion of so many rare or unique prints, The Hopi Collection is truly unique and irreplaceable. Most of the prints have been held for twenty years or more by Mr. Cardozo and none have been offered for sale individually. The major and most valuable prints are all in very good to excellent condition. Some of the minor pieces (i.e. the plate covers) have condition issues typical of the medium and era. The prints in the Collection have an aggregate fair market value of $225,000.
The Potter, 1906 Gelatin Silver 15 3/4” x 13 1/4”
The Piki Maker, 1906 Platinum 16” x 12”
Our land, our religion, and our life are one. It is upon this land that we have hunted deer, elk, antelope, buffalo, rabbit, turkey. It is from this land that we obtained the timbers and stone for our homes and kivas. —Hopi Creed
Chaiwa – Tewa, 1906 Platinum 7 3/4” x 5 5/8”
Awaiting the Return of the Snake Racers, 1922 Gelatin Silver 8 1/2� x 6 1/2�
The Potter Mixing Clay, 1900 Gelatin Silver 13 7/8” x 16 1/2”
Pele – Tawa, 1922 Gelatin Silver 8 7/16” x 6 1/2”
Hopi Bridal Costume, 1922 Gelatin Silver 7 5/8” x 4 1/2”
Untitled — Hopi Snake Priest, 1907 Gelatin Silver 10 1/2” x 8”
The Piki Maker, 1906 Gelatin Silver 8” x 6”
Hopi Ethics Be happy in order to live long. Worry makes you sick. Getting mad is a bad habit. If an innocent man doesn’t get angry, he’ll live a long while. A guilty man will get sick because of bad thoughts. Hapiness is not only good in itself but it is very healthful.
Top: Guarding the Snake Kiva, 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope 7 7/16” x 8 3/4” Bottom: Oraibi Snake Dance, 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope 6 3/4” x 8 3/4”
Top: A Melon Field, 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope 6 7/16” x 8 3/16”
Top: A Hopi Flock, 1905 Photogravure Plate Envelope 8 1/4” x 10”
Bottom: The Plaza at Walpi, 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope 7 3/16” x 7 11/16”
Bottom: A Cornfield, 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope 6 3/4” x 8 5/8”
Top: Flute Dancers Returning to Walpi, 1905 Photogravure 5” x 7 1/4” Bottom: Shipaulovi Snake Kiva, 1906 Photogravure 5” x 7 1/4”
Top: Flute Dancers Returning to Walpi, 1905 Photogravure Plate Envelope 8” x 10” Bottom: Shipaulovi Snake Kiva, 1906 Photogravure Plate Envelope 6 3/4” x 8 1/2”
“Some years ago I purchased a Curtis photograph of Plains Indians on horseback, moving with travois across an immense landscape of grasses. …I had not seen the photograph before. It struck me with such force that tears came to my eyes. I felt that I was looking into a memory in my blood… There is a quality to the image, the composition, the invisible plane beyond the surface of the scene that is ineffable. It is a quality that informs the greatest art, and it is the standard in the Curtis photographs…” —N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author
The Hopi Collection Overview A Walpi Man (Meator – A Hopi Chief), 1900 Platinum $85,000 Hopi Girl of the Village of Walpi, 1900 Platinum $38,000 The Piki Maker, 1906 Platinum $9,500 Chaiwa Tewa , 1906 Platinum $6,500 Awaiting the Return of the Snake Racers, 1922 Gelatin Silver $7,500 The Piki Maker, 1906 Gelatin Silver $9,500 The Potter, 1906 Gelatin Silver $8,500 The Potter Mixing Clay, 1900 Gelatin Silver $6,500 Pele – Tewa, 1922 Gelatin Silver $3,500 Hopi Bridal Costume, 1922 Gelatin Silver $4,500 Untitled — Hopi Snake Priest, 1907 Gelatin Silver $12,500 Guarding the Snake Kiva,1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope $4,500 Oraibi Snake Dance , 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope $4,500 A Melon Field, 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope $4,500 A Hopi Flock , 1905 Photogravure Plate Envelope $3,800 The Plaza at Walpi, 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope $4,500 A Cornfield, 1920 Photogravure Plate Envelope $3,500 Flute Dancers Returning to Walpi, 1905 Photogravure Plate Envelope $3,800 Flute Dancers Returning to Walpi, 1905 Photogravure $500 Shipaulovi Snake Kiva, 1906 Photogravure Plate Envelope $3,500 Shipaulovi Snake Kiva, 1906 Photogravure $600 Collection Total $225,200 The Collection is being offered at $135,000.
“It’s such a big dream, I can’t see it all.” —Edward S. Curtis