Snapshots of the Past

Oregon's Indian Madonna – Antique Print

Oregon's Indian Madonna, c1905. — historic photograph
Oregon's Indian Madonna, c1905.. Historic photograph from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare historic photograph captures Oregon's Indian Madonna in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Oregon's Indian Madonna

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Benjamin A. Gifford's studio in The Dalles, Oregon, produced this c1905 portrait titled "Oregon's Indian Madonna," a title that borrows the European religious image of the Virgin and child and applies it to a Native mother and her baby. Gifford worked as a photographer in the Columbia River town during the early twentieth century, when studio portraits of Native people were widely sold as souvenirs and often framed through the romantic lens of the "vanishing race." The picture's Madonna framing reflects that period's tendency to present Indigenous women as symbols rather than as individuals, so it is worth looking closely at the sitter's own presence within the composition.

Created / publishedc1905.
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePortrait photographs 1900-1910.Photographic prints 1900-1910.
NotesH63813 U.S. Copyright Office. From Benjamin A. Gifford, The Dalles, Oregon. No. 322.
SubjectsIndians of North America--Women--1900-1910. Mothers & children--Oregon--1900-1910.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan3,306 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-178174

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