Asahel Curtis

Asahel Curtis (1874–1941) was an American photographer based in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. His career included documentation of the Klondike Gold Rush period in Seattle, natural landscapes in the Northwest, and infrastructure projects in Seattle.

Asahel Curtis was born in 1874 in Minnesota to Johnson Asahel Curtis (1840–1887) and Ellen Sheriff (1844–1912). Johnson Curtis was a clergyman and American Civil War veteran who was born in Ohio to a father born in Canada and mother from Vermont. Ellen Sheriff was born in New York City, and both of her parents were born in England. Asahel's siblings were Raphael Curtis (1862–c1885) aka Ray Curtis; Eva Curtis (May 10, 1870, Whittaker, WI-1967, Tacoma Co, WA); and Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868–1952), a photographer and ethnologist.

In 1880 the family was living in Cordova, Minnesota, part of Le Sueur County, and Johnson Curtis was working as a retail grocer. When Edward and Asahel were teenagers they had a homemade camera. In 1885 at the age of seventeen Edward took his interest in photography and became an apprentice photographer in St. Paul, Minnesota.

When the Curtis family moved to Washington Territory in 1888, Edward and Asahel were just teenagers. As their careers grew, their choice of subjects became increasingly different. Edward spent 33 years documenting the traditional life of the Native American Indians. Asahel photographed Washington's natural resources and related industries, as well as the early cities of Washington state, historic events, and its population.

Asahel's brother, Edward Sheriff Curtis, supported the family by opening a photography studio in Seattle, and Asahel went to work for him in 1894. In 1897, the brothers agreed that Asahel should go to the Yukon and document the Klondike Gold Rush. Asahel remained there for two years, alternately taking pictures and working a small and largely unproductive claim. Asahel launched his photography career with that two year trip to Alaska and the Klondike. Charles Ainsworth, his mining partner, was among the many gold-seeking miners Asahel photographed between 1897 and 1899.

After working together for a few years, Edward and Asahel parted ways forever after a bitter disagreement over the rights to Asahel's Yukon photos, which Edward had published under his own name. From then on, the brothers traveled separate paths.

Edward concentrated on securing funding for the North American Indian project through lectures and photograph showings. Edward later became nationally recognized for his twenty-volume series of photographs of Native Americans. Asahel also enjoyed a successful career as a photographer, although he did not receive the acclaim that Edward did. He married Florence Carney in 1902.

In 1911, Asahel established his own studio in Seattle and employed a team of developers and colorists, including his sister Eva. He was hired by a number of local companies, organizations, and wealthy individuals to take portraits and promotional photos. He became more widely known for his images of the Washington landscape that were published nationwide.