Black Cañon, Colorado River, From Camp 8, Looking Above
Timothy O'Sullivan
American, born Ireland. 1840–1882
1871
A large-format albumen silver print by Timothy O’Sullivan that records the stern, sculpted cliffs of the Colorado River’s Black Cañon, made during a 19th-century geological survey and to explore photography’s expressive possibilities.
The image arrests you with cavernous, shadowed cliffs that frame a luminous, mirrorlike river, while a tiny boat and lone figure on the shore give human scale to the immense, silent landscape.
O’Sullivan’s photograph helped establish photography as both a scientific tool for government surveys and a poetic means of presenting the American West’s sublime landscapes to a broader public.
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
7 15/16 × 10 13/16" (20.2 × 27.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Ansel Adams in memory of Albert M. Bender
Accession
87.1941.8
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
