Edward S. Curtis Photobook Is the Top Lot Ever Sold at Swann Auction Galleries

At Thursday’s Fine Photographs & Photobooks sale at Swann Galleries, Edward S. Curtis’s The North American Indian, a set complete

A self-portrait by Edward S. Curtis. (Courtesy curtis.library.northwestern.edu)

At Thursday’s Fine Photographs & Photobooks sale at Swann Galleries, Edward S. Curtis’s The North American Indian, a set complete with 20 text volumes and 20 folios, sold for $1.44 million. It’s the most money brought in by any single lot in the auction house’s 70-year history.

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In a statement, Daile Kaplan, Swann vice president and director of photographs and photobooks, said, “We were very pleased to have sold this iconic work by a major 20th century artist.  The price reflects the rarity and beauty of this American masterpiece and the interest in photobooks as an artform.”

Edward S. Curtis Photobook Is the Top Lot Ever Sold at Swann Auction Galleries