A captivating collection of Native American portraiture by early 20th-century Japanese photographer Frank S. Matsura frames the rarely told story of his work and unique personal life.
Frank S. Matsura (1873-1913) was an immigrant photographer, a local hero, a charismatic original, an enigma, and a man of the community whose legacy has grown over time.
Today, historians are still compiling the details of Frank’s unconventional life, and his identity and images are enjoying a revival. An expansion of academic scholarship, documentaries, exhibitions, and regional historical interests, particularly regarding his Native American portraiture, has resulted in a more vivid understanding of the man and his work: * Matsura’s photographs of local tribal members reveal an honesty and empathy, a counterpoint to the contrived or nostalgic seen in his contemporaries’ images from the same period.