This summer, a remarkable American photographer finally received recognition for his contribution to our Nation’s history. The largest collection of Indigenous American photography by turn-of-the twentieth century pictorialist, Royal W. (Roland) Reed JR. (1864–1934) was unveiled in a permanent location at The Jace Romick Gallery, 837 Lincoln Avenue, Steamboat Springs.

Historic Photographer Honored

The Roland Reed Gallery has been a long time coming, to honor a historian whose untimely death in 1934 left him near penniless and in an unmarked grave in Colorado. All images are printed directly from his original glass plates are showcased alongside a replica apple-box sized camera, an original watercolor sketch, handwritten notes, and excerpts from his journals.

Reed Focused on Building Trust

Reed, an unsung contemporary of Edward S. Curtis, was a self-funded and self-directed photographer, who made it his life’s work to document the traditions and customs of Indigenous Americans. Unlike Curtis, who produced around 40,000 images, Reed’s collection was limited to several hundred glass plates for two main reasons: cost, and time spent gaining his subject’s trust.

Reed chose to immerse himself in no more than 12 tribes, taking weeks and sometimes months to document an accurate representation of the subject’s historic way of life. Reed shunned commercial gain from his work, turning down large dollar amounts for his photographs to appear on postcards and tourism goods for fear of losing authenticity.

Some of the images were printed and sold by the Kramer Gallery in Minneapolis, who bought the collection from Reed’s family, after it spent decades in storage. Upon the Kramer’s retirement in 2010 it went back into storage.

Romick to Keep Reed’s Work Alive

Jace Romick, a local photographer and gallery owner in Steamboat, was well acquainted with Reed’s work and sought to purchase the entire collection of 120 glass plates and personal artifacts in spring 2021. “I feel an eerie sense of responsibility that in 200 years someone might be looking at an image I’ve printed directly from the plates, of a photographer I revere,” he says.  “I am compelled to do it right and represent Roland Reed with complete integrity. I want to give this incredibly talented artist and historian a platform to showcase a way of life that has been forever altered.”

For more information please visit: www.rolandreedgallery.com