The collection includes materials from cultures in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, and Guiana: Acoma Pueblo, Apache, Arapaho, Arikara, Assiniboine, Caddo, Cahuilla, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chibcha, Chinantec, Chippewa (Ojibwa), Choco, Chol, Chontal, Cochiti Pueblo, Crow, Cuicatec, Eskimo, Flathead, Haida, Hopi, Huastec, Huave, Iowa, Iroquois, Isleta, Karaja, Kwakiutl, Laguna Pueblo, Macusi, Mandan, Maya, Mazahua, Mazatec, Mehinaku, Menomini, Mixe, Mixtec, Navajo, Nez Perce, Osage, Otomi, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pima, Ponca, Potawatomi, Salish, San Blas, San Felipe Pueblo, Sauk & Fox, Shuar, Sioux, Taos Pueblo, Tarasco, Teotihuacan, Tepehua, Tlaxcala, Tlingit, Tonkawa, Totonac, Triqui, Tzental, Tzotzil, Ute, Wampanoag, Zapotec, Zoque, Zuni.
Arrangement note:
Collection arranged by item number.
Biographical/Historical note:
Frederick Starr was born in Auburn, New York, on September 2, 1858. He received a Ph.D. in biology in 1884 at Coe College, where he was later appointed professor of biology. Starr did postgraduate work in anthropology at Yale. In 1889 he was appointed head of Ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History, and in 1892 he was chosen by William Harper to organize the Anthropology Department at the new University of Chicago. Starr remained at the University until his retirement in 1923. Besides his field studies with various Indian tribes in the United States, Starr traveled to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Guiana, Japan, the Philippines, and Africa. He died in Tokyo, Japan, on August 14, 1933. Starr was the author of several books and scholarly articles.
General note:
Starr hired professional photographers Charles B. Lang and Louis Grabic to accompany him on his field trips. One lantern slide of Moses Ladd (Menomini) was taken by William H. Jackson.
Provenance:
Dr. Frederick Starr, Purchased, circa 1929
Restrictions:
Access restricted. Researchers should contact the staff of the NMAI Archives for an appointment to access the collection.
The bulk of the collection is comprised of images of paintings by Vladimir Kozak and his artifacts relating to Brazilian tribes, photographed by James A. Jensen at Kozak's home in Curitaba, Brazil, in September 1965. It also includes a watercolor image of body decoration at a ceremony held by the upper Xingu River tibes of Central Brazil. Additionally, there is one lithograph poster of a J. A. Jensen painting of Chief Joseph, dated 1974.
Biographical/Historical note:
James A. Jensen (1918-1998) was a paleontologist and Director of the Earth Sciences Museum at Brigham Young University (BYU). While at BYU, he conducted fieldwork in both North and South America, at which point he may have met Vladimir Kozak. He created pastel and acrylic artwork, particularly of flowers, landscapes, and Native Americans.
Artist Vladimir Kozak was trained in Czechoslovakia in mechanical engineering, sculpture, and painting. In 1923, he immigrated to Brazil. As Kozak's interest in the Indigenous tribes of Brazil grew, he increasingly focused on painting and sculpting, particularly during the 1940s and 1950s. He also became a still photographer, film maker, and collector of Indigenous artifacts.
Photo lot 79-1, James A. Jensen photographs of Vladimir Kozak art and artifacts and Chief Joseph lithograph, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Parque Indígena do Xingu (Xingu Indian Reservation); Northeast Mesoregion, North Araguaia Microregion; Mato Grosso State, Central-West Region; Brazil (inferred)
