Shot in the Hand - Apsaroke

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Shot in the Hand - Apsaroke

Artist Edward Sheriff Curtis (American, 1868-1952)

Printer John Andrew & Son

Date1908

DimensionsOverall: 21 3/4 x 17 3/4 in. (55.2 x 45.1 cm);
Image: 15 13/16 x 10 5/16 in. (40.1 x 26.1 cm)

Mediumphotogravure

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1985.132

Not on View

Label TextThis image is a characteristic example of Curtis’s style—a blend of ethnographic accuracy and the picturesque. The Apsaroke (Apsáalooke), or Crow, people originally inhabited the Yellowstone River Valley, but by the late 19th century, the tribe had been removed from traditional lands to the Crow Reservation in southern Montana. The profile pose of this Crow warrior presents a self-assured demeanor; the details of his braided hair style, shell jewelry, and ermine-trimmed shirt can be seen clearly in this remarkable photograph. Curtis wrote of his subject in the book The North American Indian: "Shot in the Hand (Maohpish) was born about 1841. He was a Medicine Crow, and member of the Fox organization and the Whistle Water clan. A very skilled and fierce warrior, he once rushed up a height to strike the Piegan who were entrenched on the summit, and although a shot brought him to the ground he arose and charged again. Four times in as many different fights he seized an unharmed enemy by the hair and hurled him from his horse."Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, About Face, Sept.30 - Dec.31 2005.

Toledo Museum of Art, The American West: Photographs of a New Frontier, January 15-May 15, 2016.