Zahadolzhá – Navaho* Curtis, Edward Sherrif  (American, 1868-1952)

This evocative portrait shows a Navajo man—identified by the name “Zahadolzhá” or “Za‑Ha‑Bol‑Zi”—clad in ceremonial regalia, including a mask and body paint. Taken and published by Curtis around 1904, the image appears in Volume I of his pivotal work The North American Indian. A beautiful tissue photogravure, the image reflects both the spiritual power of Navajo ceremony and Curtis’s own romanticized vision of Indigenous life.