Family Sacrifices ~ Family in the Field

Florence Curtis Graybill at campsite near Ukiah, California, probably by Edward S. Curtis, about 1923. Courtesy James Graybill, Edward S. Curtis' grandson.
Florence Curtis Graybill
at campsite near Ukiah, California,
probably by Edward S. Curtis, about 1923.
Beth Curtis Magnuson, by Edward S. Curtis, 1927. Courtesy James Graybill, Edward S. Curtis' grandson.
Beth Curtis Magnuson,
by Edward S. Curtis, 1927.

Early on, Curtis experimented with bringing along his wife and three children on his field trips. On one such trip to a Navajo encampment in Canyon de Chelly, everything seemed idyllic—at first. The children enjoyed playing with the burro and exploring the canyon. One night, however, when a Navajo woman experienced a difficult childbirth, the medicine man blamed the white people in the area. Curtis, family, and crew quickly fled the canyon. Curtis never again took the entire family into the field.

Florence Curtis at the Canyon de Chelly, by Edward S. Curtis, 1906. Courtesy James Graybill, Edward S. Curtis' grandson.
Florence Curtis at the Canyon de Chelly,
by Edward S. Curtis, 1906.

~ Curtis' Technique

~ The Curtis Family ~ Working on the Frontier ~ Gaining Support ~ A Life's Work ~ Early Books ~ Family Sacrifices
~ "The Man Who Never Took Time to Play" ~ Curtis' Technique ~ Alaska ~
~ Timeline ~ Suggested Readings ~ Credits ~

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