Who painted Portfolio I, Plate 23: Jicarilla Matron?

Portfolio I, Plate 23: Jicarilla Matron was painted by Edward S. Curtis in 1904.

Where can I see Portfolio I, Plate 23: Jicarilla Matron?

Portfolio I, Plate 23: Jicarilla Matron is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

Artwork

Portfolio I, Plate 23: Jicarilla Matron

Edward S. Curtis , 1904

Portfolio I, Plate 23: Jicarilla Matron is a work on paper by Edward S. Curtis. It dates from 1904 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Portfolio I, Plate 23: Jibrilla Matron is a black‑and‑white photographic plate produced in 1904 by American photographer Edward S.

Accession no.: 1995.203.21.23
Credit line: Presented by Mrs. James H. Hoyt, Elton Hoyt, II, and Mrs. Amasa Stone Mather in memory of James H. Hoyt

About this work

This is a black-and-white photo of a woman wearing a fur coat and heavy beaded necklaces.

This is a black-and-white photo of a woman wearing a fur coat and heavy beaded necklaces. Her hair is pulled back, and she has a serious expression. The background is plain, keeping all focus on her.

The photo was taken by someone documenting Indigenous life in the early 1900s. The beads and fur suggest traditional Jicarilla clothing.

Check out Edward S. Curtis (American, 1868–1952) to see more of his work.

Overview

Portfolio I, Plate 23: Jibrilla Matron is a black‑and‑white photographic plate produced in 1904 by American photographer Edward S. Curtis. The image is part of Curtis’s extensive visual record of Indigenous peoples of North America and is currently in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Subject & Meaning

The portrait depicts a Jicarilla woman dressed in a fur coat and layered with heavy beaded necklaces. Her hair is pulled back and her expression is solemn, presenting a dignified representation of traditional attire and personal bearing within the tribe.

Technique & Style

Curtis employed the large‑format camera and glass‑plate negative process typical of early twentieth‑century documentary photography. The plain, unadorned background isolates the figure, emphasizing texture of the fur and beads while rendering the subject in sharp tonal contrast.

History & Provenance

Taken during Curtis’s fieldwork documenting Indigenous life in the early 1900s, the plate entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection at an unspecified date. It remains a component of the museum’s holdings on early American photography and Native American representation.