American, 1868–1952
Edward S. Curtis
839results on record
79%sell-through
$4,845median result (USD, incl. premium; 93% observed, 7% estimated from hammer)
$1,416,000record in our coverage
Drawn from 839 recorded results (723 sold · 116 passed) across 14 auction houses, 1998–2026. 46 upcoming lots on the ledger. What we cover
Median sold price by year typical estimate range median result USD, incl. premium; 93% observed, 7% estimated from hammer method · log scale
Where does a value land in this market?
Every sold result for this market, low to high (log scale) — the dashed line is the median. Enter a value to see where it lands.
By medium where medium is recorded or stated in the catalog line
| Medium | Results | Sell-through | Median result (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| photography | 123 | 80% | $4,800 |
| prints | 108 | 85% | $684 |
| other | 76 | 100% | $18,522 |
| ceramics & design | 6 | 100% | $1,463 |
Medium is recorded for 313 of 839 results (37%) — rows above cover that subset; the rest of the record is in the full ledger below.
Compared with Ansel Adams Edward S. Curtis Ansel Adams
| Metric | Edward S. Curtis | Ansel Adams |
|---|---|---|
| Median result | $4,845 | $11,875 |
| Record price | $1,416,000 | $988,000 |
| Results on record | 839 | 2,991 |
| Years active at auction | 1998–2026 | 1998–2026 |
Related artists: Ansel AdamsBerenice AbbottEdward WestonHenri Cartier-bresson
Market strength liquidity score, 0–100 · method
72/ 100
- Sell-through79%
- Meets estimate52%
- Market depth839 results
How readily and near-estimate this market clears — sell-through, estimate reliability, and depth, blended into one score. "Meets estimate" is the share of sold lots hammering at or above the low estimate, over catalogs that print a real appraisal: a house whose printed low is a starting bid would meet its estimate on every lot, so those lots are excluded from this term only — their prices and outcomes still count in the other two. Method →
Where this artist sells best
| House | Results | Sell-through | Median | vs. estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonhams | 395 | 76% | $3,520 | 0.86× |
| Christie's | 241 | — | $6,394 | — |
| Sotheby's | 97 | 95% | $8,750 | 0.70× |
| Freeman's | Hindman | 52 | 92% | $384 | 0.43× |
| Heritage Auctions | 26 | 77% | $1,125 | — |
| Rago | 15 | 93% | $826 | — |
| Wright | 4 | 50% | $456 | — |
| Phillips | 1 | 100% | $882 | — |
| Artcurial | 1 | — | $6,183 | 0.78× |
| Chiswick Auctions | 2 | 50% | $320 | — |
| Shelby's Auctioneers Ltd. | 1 | 100% | $143 | 3.40× |
| Locati LLC | 1 | 100% | $469 | 0.62× |
| Lempertz | 1 | 0% | — | — |
| Arader Galleries | 3 | 0% | — | — |
The same artist across every house we cover — hammer-vs-estimate side by side. A dash in the estimate column can mean withheld rather than unpublished: the house publishes no hammer price, or its printed low is a starting bid rather than an appraisal. Method →
Prices realized 886 recorded lots — sold, passed, and upcoming — results in USD incl. premium; est. marks a premium estimated from the house's schedule ✓ Includes 116 passed lots
| Date | Lot | Medium | vs. estimate | Estimate USD | Result USD, incl. premium | House |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 realized prices on this page are locked. A Research Pass reads 50 of them for $39, once — buy a pass | ||||||
| 2021·06 | Selected photogravures from "The North American Indian"; | $1,000–$1,500 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Native Americans on a movie set, possibly for the DeMille Studios; | $1,000–$1,500 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Waterfall, Mount Rainier; | $800–$1,200 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Aphrodite 2 | $2,000–$3,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Jean Wickersham; (2) | $1,500–$2,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Jean Wickersham, Drifting Sands; | $800–$1,200 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Selected images on set at the Demille Studio; (6) | $2,000–$3,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Portrait of Alice Roosevelt Longworth in Wedding Gown; | $800–$1,200 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Shirley Temple, Wedding Portrait; | $400–$600 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Sunset Trail | $1,200–$1,800 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Castle of Dreams | $1,200–$1,800 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Various Curtis Family Portraits 13 | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Theodore Roosevelt; | $1,000–$1,500 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Quentin Roosevelt; | $800–$1,200 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Portrait of a Woman | $500–$700 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Fisherman, Wisham; and Out of the Darkness, Navajo; | $2,000–$3,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Vanishing Race; | $1,500–$2,500 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Spirit of the Past, Apsaroke; | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Spirit of the Past, Apsaroke; | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Women of the Desert, Navaho | $6,000–$8,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Scout Apache | $7,000–$9,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Vanishing Race | $2,500–$3,500 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Launching the Whale Boat | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Reindeer Herd of Nunivak Island | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | King Island Homes | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Klamath Lake Marshes | $7,000–$9,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | At the Old Well of Acoma; | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Maid of Dreams | $2,500–$3,500 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Signal Fire to the Mountain Gods; | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Salmon Stream, Hupa | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Watching for Salmon, Hupa | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Spearing Salmon, Hupa | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Piki Maker | $2,000–$3,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Potter (Nampeyo) - Hopi | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Black Eagle, Assiniboin | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Vash Gon, Jicarilla | $5,000–$7,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Klamath Lake Marshes; | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Chief, Klamath | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Chief of Crater Lake | $7,000–$9,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | At the Water's Edge, Piegan | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Camp on the Little Big Horn, Apsaroke | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Flathead Camp on the Jocko River | $5,000–$7,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Maid of Dreams | $6,000–$8,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Watching for Salmon, Hupa | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Salmon Stream | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Clam Digger | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Rush Gatherer, Kutenai | $8,000–$12,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Hopi Girls at the Well | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | At the Old Well of Acoma | $6,000–$8,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Fisherman, Wisham | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Signal Fire to the Mountain Gods | $5,000–$7,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Geronimo, Apache | $10,000–$15,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Zuni Governor | $2,000–$3,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Piki Maker | $5,000–$7,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Depositing a Prayer Stick | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Signal Fire to the Mountain Gods | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Before the Storm, Apache | $5,000–$7,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Out of the Darkness, Navajo | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Vanishing Race | $5,000–$7,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | The Oath, Apsaroke | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Prayer to the Great Mystery (Slow Bull, Sioux) | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·06 | Prayer to the Stars | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·05 | A group of three prints ( Oscar Makes Cry-Ponca, 1927; A House at Wakhtek-Yurok , 1932; Village of Nootka , 1915) | photogravures | $500–$700 | Freeman's | Hindman | ||
| 2021·05 | The Storm - Apache , from Copyright Photograph 1906 | photogravure | $600–$800 | Freeman's | Hindman | ||
| 2021·04 | Untitled (Native American woman and canoe) | $1,800–$2,200 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·04 | Before the Storm, Apache | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·04 | 'Waiting in the Forest - Cheyenne' | $5,000–$7,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2021·01 | the piki maker, hopi (plate 432, volume xii from the north american indian) | $2,000–$3,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2021·01 | the scout - apache (plate 13, volume i from the north american indian) | $2,000–$3,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·11 | [no title recorded] | — | Heritage Auctions | |||
| 2020·11 | [no title recorded] | — | Heritage Auctions | |||
| 2020·11 | A Klamath Pl 441 | — | Arader Galleries | |||
| 2020·11 | Nunivak Woman Child Pl 694 | — | Arader Galleries | |||
| 2020·11 | Pl 477 On the Shores of Clear Lake | — | Arader Galleries | |||
| 2020·10 | The Vanishing Race | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2020·08 | Castle O' Dreams | $1,500–$2,500 | Bonhams | |||
| 2020·08 | Sunset Trail | $1,500–$2,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2020·07 | A Chief of the Desert, Navajo | $700–$900 | Wright | |||
| 2020·07 | before the storm (apache) | $10,000–$15,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·07 | self-portrait | $6,000–$9,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·05 | [no title recorded] | — | Heritage Auctions | |||
| 2020·05 | [no title recorded] | — | Heritage Auctions | |||
| 2020·04 | The Vanishing Race | $5,000–$7,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2020·04 | Maid of Dreams | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2020·04 | A Chief of the Desert, Navajo | $700–$900 | Wright | |||
| 2020·01 | assiniboin hunter | $1,500–$2,500 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·01 | Eskadi - Apache | $1,200–$1,800 | Rago | |||
| 2019·12 | The Vanishing Race | $6,000–$8,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·12 | A Chief of the Desert, Navaho | $6,000–$8,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·12 | Canyon de Chelly | $6,000–$8,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·11 | The Vanishing Race | $4,616–$5,770 | Lempertz | |||
| 2019·11 | the vanishing race, 1904 | $9,231–$13,847 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2019·10 | The Night Scout, Apache | $6,000–$8,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·09 | At the Old Well of Acoma | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·09 | Canyon de Chelly | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·04 | The Vanishing Race | $6,000–$8,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·04 | The Piki Maker | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·04 | Selected images from 'The North American Indian' 52 | $8,000–$12,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·01 | Canyon de Chelly | $3,000–$5,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2018·08 | Andreas Canyon | $300–$500 | Wright | |||
Realized prices are sold by the record: 50 for $39, non-expiring. Reading them at volume is what Starter is for.