His interest in Mount Ranier and the Seattle area led him to an interest photographing Indians. The contacts that grew out of these interests gave Curtis an introduction to eminent figures in anthropology and ethnology. While on a trip to photograph the Piegan sundance encampment in Montana in 1900, Curtis was told that he would never again see such a great encampment of Indians. Following on this experience, not only did Curtis spend thirty years in the field taking photographs, the finished product he created is a monumental work that documents the life, religions, and customs of Indians in the western third of the United States, British Columbia, and Alaska. The images are evocative, beautiful, and stunning and the information gathered was painstakingly crafted into twenty volumes of books with images andtwenty volumes of larger plates.
Photogravures are an art form of the highest quality.
This exhibition draws upon books and images from the collections of the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, Smithsonian Institution Libraries. The exhibition looks at the reasons behind building the canal, the French efforts on the Suez Canal and later on the Isthmus of Panama, the commitment of the United States to the American effort, and the canal's ultimate completion. Through images and text, the online exhibition tells the story of the major engineering project that led to the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Featured are books and manuscripts from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Also included are a number of artifacts from the collections of the National Museum of American History.