Fish Shows-Apsaroke 1908

This portrait of Fish Shows-Apsaroke was made with photography by Edward S. Curtis. It's soaked in shades of brown, like it's been steeping in tea. The way the light skims across his face, it's like Curtis is sculpting him out of shadow. Look at the texture—you can almost feel the weight of those beads around his neck. And those accessories, the way they catch the light, they're practically shouting. What gets me is the quiet confidence in his eyes. It’s like he's seen a thing or two, and he’s not giving away any secrets. You know, photography is always about a conversation between the photographer and the subject, so I wonder what they talked about. Like a painting, it’s an exchange, a dance between two people, and the result is something that holds a whole world inside it. Just like the painter Alice Neel, Curtis reveals something about the sitter's inner world.