A Diegueño of Santa Ysabel 1924

Curator: Edward Curtis's photograph, "A Diegueño of Santa Ysabel," captures a striking image of an indigenous man. Editor: It's a soulful portrait; the tight crop focuses all the attention on his weathered face, a landscape etched with time. Curator: Curtis, born in 1868, aimed to document Native American cultures. This photograph, now at Harvard, measures about 39 by 29.5 centimeters. Editor: I wonder about the ethical implications. Does romanticizing a vanishing culture truly honor it, or does it freeze it in a problematic amber? The sepia tone lends a nostalgic air, as if longing for a past already gone. Curator: It is a question worth considering. He certainly presents the image through his own lens, shaping our understanding. Editor: I am left feeling as if I’ve been looking into a mirror, and suddenly, the lines of my own face tell their own story.