The Western Landscape
Title
The Western Landscape
Description
Landscape views by early photographers of the West were praised by contemporary critics for their aesthetic qualities, and today they are often cited as the finest American examples of the genre. But western photographers had concerns beyond the aesthetic: They also had to make an argument for American settlement in the West. To this end, western landscape photography suggests the drama of nature and at the same offers a straightforward depiction of the topology of a place. In later work, however, rugged features gave way to tame, inviting vistas.
A good number of the views on display here are photographs taken during surveys. Starting in the 1840s, field photography was a component of federal and state surveys, but for a time the value of the resulting photographs remained unclear. Survey photography reached a zenith during the four major U.S. government surveys of the 1870s led by Ferdinand V. Hayden (1829-1887), Clarence King (1842-1901), John Wesley Powell (1834-1902), and George M. Wheeler (1842-1905).
Collection Items
Lake Ah-Wi-Yah, Yosemite Valley, California
Among the earliest American landscape photographers, Watkins became instantly famous for his views of the Yosemite Valley, which he first photographed in 1861. In an influential Atlantic Monthly article, Oliver Wendell Holmes praised Watkins for his…
Grand Canon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone River Valley
In 1871, Jackson photographed the Yellowstone region of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho for Ferdinand V. Hayden’s (1829–1887) U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. His photographs were immediately lauded as visual evidence of the…
Black Canon, Colorado River from Camp 8, Looking Above
O'Sullivan was also hired by military engineer Lt. George M. Wheeler's (1842-1905) as a survey photographer for the Geographical and Geological Explorations and Surveys West of the 100th Meridian in 1871, 1873, and 1874. He took the photograph…
Grand Canon of the Colorado River, Mouth of Kanab Wash, Looking West
In 1872, Philadelphia photographer Bell replaced O'Sullivan for one year as Wheeler's expedition photographer. The repose of the figure in the photograph was surely intended to disarm the viewer. The figure calls attention to the scale of the…
Mt. Hood from near Vancouver, Washington
Watkins achieved critical acclaim but had difficulty selling his photographs and often found himself unable to fund his photographic excursions. With a loan from American geologist J. D. Whitney (1819-1896), Watkins set out from California in 1867 to…
Twin Lake, Big Cottonwood Canon, Utah
After Hayden's survey ended in 1879, Jackson established his own studio in Denver. Ever attuned to consumer demands, he specialized in portraiture and landscape photography. Jackson hired others to handle the portraits, but photographed the region…
Canon of the Rio las Animas, La Plata County, Colorado
The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad described itself as "The Scenic Line of America," and hired Jackson in 1881 to illustrate the assertion for its advertisements. On commissions through the 1890s, Jackson traveled along the line on the railroad…