Larry Ness’s Lifetime Collection of Native American Photography Coming to Auction
"As I began collecting and researching Plains Indian art and artifacts like beadwork, quillwork, tools, and weaponry, I came upon published images of Plains Indians and soon found myself compelled to seek original photographs to enhance my collection." Larry Ness
TO BE OFFERED OCTOBER 24, CINCINNATI GARDNER, Alexander (1821-1882), photographer. Indians on Visit to their "Great Father." Washington, DC, 23 February 1867. $20,000-30,000
Most collectors can point to one object or experience that jumpstarted their collecting journey. For Larry Ness, the spark was an arrowhead he found at the age of seven. No one—including himself—could have predicted that, over the next several decades, he would amass a remarkable collection of photographs of Native American Plains peoples.
For Ness—a resident of Yankton, South Dakota, a town along the Missouri River—these photographs reflect his deep admiration for the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains. His collection tells the story of the region and its people through images, beginning with photographs from the latter half of the 19th century by some of the era’s most skilled photographers, including A. Zeno Shindler, Alexander Gardner, Charles M. Bell, William Henry Jackson, and David F. Barry.
On October 24, the first installment of Ness’s lifelong Native American photography collection will be offered in Freeman’s I Hindman’s Cincinnati saleroom. From studio portraits of Native subjects to intimate views of camp life, to dramatic scenes capturing the aftermath of conflict, the sale is comprised of a carefully curated assemblage of photographs documenting the principal figures and events that shaped the Plains peoples’ interactions with White Americans as they moved West after the Civil War.
Among the many highlights is an exceptional selection of portraits of Native American treaty delegations visiting Washington, D.C., including a mammoth plate photograph by Alexander Gardner entitled Indians on Visit to Their "Great Father." Taken in February 1867, this image depicts a rare view of Sioux delegates standing below the balcony of the White House with President Andrew Johnson and his staff.
The interactions between Native American leaders and the U.S. government—such as the one shown in this photograph—were seldom without controversy. They reveal a deeper, enduring tension between the pursuit of peace and the realities of power. This dissonance lies at the heart of the Native American legacy in the United States and resonates through every image in this extraordinary collection. On October 24, that story will be made visible—one lot at a time.
INQUIRES: [email protected]
VIEWING: October 21-23
5030 Oaklawn Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45227