Carl Lumholtz (Fåberg, Norway, 1851 - 1922, Saranac Lake, New York)
Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Arizona, 9 September 1890
Ink on paper
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Long Gallery
Commentary
Carl Lumholtz (1851-1922) was a Norwegian explorer and ethnographer, known for his ethnographic publications on indigenous cultures of Australia and Mexico. In this letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner, Lumholtz details his journey from Arizona to Mexico, saying he is crossing “the fords today with 14 men and 44 mules and horses” despite being “considerably detained by heavy floods”. He also notes that he will describe “cliff-dwellers” to Gardner, promising to “write to you about them, first of all, but I do not want anything to be spoken of them yet please”. One of Lumholtz’s goals in exploring Mexico was to find the prehistoric culture now known as the Anasazi, who used to inhabit the American Southwest and built cliff-sited dwellings. He believed that the Anasazi had migrated south, into Mexico’s Sierra Madre. Although he never found evidence of the Anasazi in Mexico, Lumholtz remained in Mexico from 1890 to 1910, conducting several expeditions while he was there, and publishing “Unknown Mexico” in 1902.