Werner Lüthy photographs from Venezuela

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sova.nmai.ac.189

Provenance: Donated to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation by Werner Lüthy in 1931.

Summary: This collection contains 14 photographs depicting the Barí (Motilone) and Wayuu (Guajira/Goajiro) peoples of Venezuela circa 1930-1931.

Biographical / Historical: Werner Lüthy (also spelled Luthy) was a Swiss photographer who lived in Bern, Switzerland. Born on August 1, 1899, Lüthy specialized in travel photography. His work was exhibited in Bern in the 1930s through 1950s and published in numerous photography journals. Lüthy died on November 11, 1967.

Citation: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Werner Lüthy photographs from Venezuela, catalog #, NMAI.AC.202; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Rights: Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Scope and Contents: N36511-N36516, P09993-P10000 This collection contains 8 gelatin silver prints shot by photographer Werner Lüthy circa 1930-1931 and and 6 copy negatives created by the Museum of the American Indian. The photographs depict the Barí (Motilone) and Wayuu (Guajira/Goajiro) peoples of Venezuela. The photographs include portraits of individuals and groups, as well as scenes of daily life such as a pearl fisherman repairing a sail, pearl fishermen sitting on a mound of shells, and individuals wearing face paint. One photograph depicts the top of a man's head showing scars, which according to Lüthy, was obtained during a "Chicha-feast" when one man hits another over the head with a sharp bow until one man drops. The photographs have typed captions on the versos.

Restrictions: Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Related Materials: The State Archives of Canton Bern in Switzerland holds a collection of Werner Lüthy photographs.

NMAI.AC.189

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NMAI.AC.189

NMAIA