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How was interest in Edward S. Curtis revived during the 1970s?

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Curtis, Edward S. — Edward S. Curtis Self-portrait, photogravure by Edward S. Curtis, 1899; in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Interest in the work of Edward S. Curtis was revived during the 1970s primarily through two overlapping groups: collectors and dealers of vintage photography and members of the counterculture who held romanticized views of indigenous cultures and the New Age movement.1

This resurgence was significantly bolstered by the publication of Portraits from North American Indian Life (1972), a collection curated by critic A.D. Coleman and T.C. McLuhan that reached a wide audience. Following this, The North American Indian was reprinted in a more accessible, smaller format in 1973, which led to further exhibitions and anthologies of his work.1

During this period, public and critical discourse regarding Curtis became polarized. Commentary often either praised the aesthetic beauty and perceived veracity of his images or criticized his methods, sometimes characterizing his efforts as deceptive. This revival ended a long period of relative neglect that had persisted since the mid-1920s, during which his work was largely overlooked by the general public.1