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Arts Commission Position Statement_Edward S. Curtis CollectionCity of Dubuque .Arts & Cultural.~l alts Advisory Commission July 2, 2008 TO: The Honorable Roy D. Buol, Mayor and Members of the City Council FROM: Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission: Chair, Louise Kames, Paul Hemmer, Ellen Henkels, Paul Kohl, Sue Riedel, Geri Shafer, Amy Weber Position Statement The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission is taking a proactive position to provide the Mayor and Dubuque City Council with critical background information related to Edward S. Curtis: The North American Indian collection, owned by the Carnegie-Stout Public Library. The photogravures from the collection are currently housed at the Dubuque Museum of Art. The Commission believes the collection should remain in Dubuque as one of its treasured cultural resources. To reassure Council that the Commission is acting within its role: • As stated in the Municipal Code of Ordinance, Article II, Section 8-12: The mission of the commission is to build the community of Dubuque through arts and cultural programs by developing visibility, funding, audiences, information and partnerships. • As stated in the ordinance and pertinent to the Commission's position, its goals are: 1) To promote, educate and create awareness for arts and cultural activities in the Dubuque community; and, 3) To facilitate and convene partnerships for arts and cultural activities in the Dubuque community. • As stated in the Ordinance, the purpose of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission shall be to plan, promote and encourage programs to further public awareness of, accessibility to, participation in and support for the artistic and cultural development of the city and make recommendations to the City Council regarding the establishment of arts and cultural policies and programs, the expenditure of budgeted city funds on arts and cultural activities and the implementation of programs for arts and culture. • Under Section 8-1 5 of the Ordinance, the Commission shall have the following powers: (1) To act in an advisory capacity to the city council in all matters pertaining to the arts and cultural environment of the city. • In the City's 2008 Comprehensive Plan Cultural Arts Goals, Goal 6 is stated: To safeguard the cultural and historic resources of the community as critical to the quality of life and the attractiveness of Dubuque. Page 2 The Commission is aware that the Carnegie-Stout Public Library is currently negotiating the sale of a valued community asset and cultural treasure. The Edward S. Curtis: The North American Indian collection, owned by the Carnegie-Stout Public Library, has been put up for sale to raise funds for its "Create the Next Chapter" renovation campaign. The Curtis Collection includes 20 volumes of text held at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library and more than 700 photogravure prints currently housed and cared for at the Dubuque Museum of Art. The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission believes the sale of the Edward S. Curtis collection to another institution or individual outside of Dubuque would create a significant loss to the community, the Carnegie-Stout Public Library and the Dubuque Museum of Art, cause irreparable damage to the long-standing relationship between the two institutions and, most importantly, deprive present and future generations in Dubuque of the cultural, historical and educational value of the collection. Once sold this cultural resource would be lost and no longer provide the same benefit to the thousands of children and adults in the community who value art and the preservation of our culture. There should be something of permanence to what we value. It should not all be expendable today, never to be appreciated for tomorrow. Therefore, the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, acting in an advisory capacity and within its stated roles, recommends to the City Council that the Edward S. Curtis: The North American Indian Collection remain in Dubuque as one of Dubuque's historical and cultural treasures. Page 3 ATTACHMENT The Commission is providing the following information in support of its position: I. The artist, Edward S. Curtis and the creation of his masterwork, The North American Indian; II. The circumstances of the donation of this work to the Carnegie- Stout Public Library; III. The loan arrangement between the Carnegie- Stout Public Library and the Dubuque Museum of Art; IV. The care and exhibition of the Curtis Collection at the Dubuque Museum of Art I. Edward S. Curtis and the creation of his masterwork. The North American Indian Edward S. Curtis is one of the most prominent and recognized photographers of the 20~h century; best known for his colossal photography collection The North American Indian He was born in 1868 near Whitewater, Wisconsin, only 130 miles from Dubuque. His adolescence coincided with the emergence of photography as an artistic medium. Photography captivated him from an early age and he would end up dedicating his life to the medium. His family moved to Seattle, Washington in 1887 where Curtis became a professional photographer, when the opportunity to become a partner in a promising portrait business arose. Curtis honed his artistic skills photographing the residents in the Seattle area. But it was through the opportunities to work as a photographer on expeditions to the north, documenting the geography and indigenous people, that Curtis gained the skills and the desire to travel the country capturing images of North American Indian cultures. For Curtis, The North American Indian project was a race against time. Their culture was rapidly changing and their traditions were disappearing. He received encouragement and financial assistance from President Teddy Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan but the grueling work required all of his energy and more resources than he could raise, subsequently incurring large personal debt. He spent thirty years creating The North American Indian project which consisted of 20 illustrated volumes of ethnographic text and over 720 large-format photogravures. He took more than 40,000 photographs; made over 10,000 recordings of Native speech and music; produced lectures, slide shows, an opera and a documentary film all based on his this work. The Curtis Collection currently owned by the Carnegie-Stout Public Library is a complete set of both volumes and portfolios. Page 4 The Donation of the Curtis Works to the Carneaie-Stout Public Libra The existence of this collection is steeped in Dubuque history. Emma H. Ward generously donated the Curtis works to the Library in memory of her husband, Hiram Ward. Emma H. and Hiram Ward were prominent Dubuque citizens of the late 19~h Century. Hiram Ward was a lawyer and officer of the famed German Bank, served on the school board and was an active philanthropist. Following is an excerpt from Library Board Minutes dated May 10, 1909 regarding the gift of the Edward S. Curtis North American Indian by Mrs. Emma H. Ward to the Carnegie-Stout Public Library: "M r. Rich presented the following resolution: Resolved-That the heartfelt thanks of this Board are due and are herewith tendered to Mrs. Emma H. Ward for her superb gift to this Library, as a memorial to her husband, Hiram Pond Ward, a full set of Curtis' "North American Indian. The special edition of 20 volumes and portfolios which constitute this gift is almost unapproachable in the richness of its illustrations, in the beauty of typography and the perfection of its binding, as well as in the fullness and value of its history and biography. It will long remain one of the great claims of the Library, and to all residents of Dubuque, will serve as a delightful souvenir of honored friends of our Library and of our city." (From the Dubuque Museum of Art's files.) III. Relationship between Carnegie-Stout Public Library and the Dubuque Museum of Art The Carnegie-Stout Public Library and the Dubuque Museum of Art (previously known as the Dubuque Art Association) have an established relationship dating to the early 20~h Century. The Dubuque Art Association (now the Dubuque Museum of Art) was founded in 1874, and shortly thereafter began its long association with the Dubuque Library (now the Carnegie-Stout Public Library). In 1902 the Art Association moved into a new facility with the Library. By 1912 the Art Association and the Library held traveling exhibitions in the Library and regularly engaged lecturers on a national level to come to Dubuque and speak on art. The two institutions have enjoyed a collegial relationship and through the years have collaborated on numerous projects. It would be in the best interest to maintain this long-standing partnership. IV. The Care and Exhibition of the Edward S. Curtis Collection at the Dubuaue Museum of Art In 1999 the Dubuque Museum of Art and the Carnegie-Stout Public Library entered into an agreement that stated the Library would loan the The North American Indian, 1907 - 1930, Edward S. Curtis, 20 supplemental folios of photogravures, 1 19/500 to the Dubuque Museum of Art. Page 5 While the Curtis photogravures have remained the property of the Library, they have been housed at the Dubuque Museum of Art which has assumed financial, fiduciary and care of the collection. It has maintained full responsibility for the conservation, insurance, storage, security and care in an environment appropriate for the fragility of the photogravures. As provided in the 1999 agreement, the Museum has since demonstrated professional curatorial experience, conservation, management and educational promotion of works of art and has assumed substantial financial stewardship of the pieces through exhibition, maintenance, care, storage, security, insurance and conservation. Additionally, the Museum received funds to support conservation framing for 26 Curtis photogravures which enabled the Museum to exhibit significant images from the "Edward S. Curtis: The North American Indian"collection in 2004. An additional selection of the Curtis prints is currently on display at the Dubuque Museum of Art. The Edward S. Curtis Collection is a significant cultural resource for Dubuque and has been instrumental in attracting scholars, major exhibition opportunities, educational programming and publications as well as visitors from around the globe to the Dubuque community. Next year (2009) will mark the l OO~h anniversary of the gift of this valuable collection to the community.