Edward Sheriff Curtis (American, 1868–1952) was an ethnologist and photographer of the Native American peoples whose goal was to not just photograph this group of people but to document a way of life that was quickly disappearing. From 1906 until 1929, when Curtis ended this project, he had produced over 40,000 images from approximately 80 different tribes. Curtis' goal of producing a 20-volume edition of these images , under the title of The North American Indian, was realized through the funding of financier, banker and philanthropist J.P. Morgan.