Frank S. Matsura: Icono st Photographer of the American West

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. His oeuvre of just ten years (due to his unexpected passing from tuberculosis) documents everyday local events