Quniáika - Mohave 1903

Edward S. Curtis made this photograph of Quniáika of the Mohave people, using a photogravure technique, sometime in the early 20th century. The sepia tone gives the whole image a feeling of warmth, a bit like looking at an old memory. The texture is so subtle. Look closely, and you can see the fine grain of the paper and the way the light catches on the surface. It’s like Curtis is trying to capture not just what Quniáika looked like, but also a sense of his presence. The way the shadows define his face, especially around his eyes, gives him a really compelling gaze. Thinking about other photographers who were working around the same time, like Gertrude Käsebier, there's something similar in the way they both used light and shadow to create a sense of intimacy. Ultimately, photographs like these remind us that art is always part of a bigger conversation, a way of seeing and understanding each other.