Black Cañon, Colorado River, Looking Below from Big Horn Camp
Timothy O'Sullivan
American, born Ireland. 1840–1882
1871
An albumen silver print photograph in which Timothy O’Sullivan records the sheer rock walls of Black Cañon and the calm Colorado River, aiming to document the West’s geology for nineteenth‑century surveys while making a composed visual statement.
What strikes you is the dramatic scale—the towering, textured cliffs cutting into a pale, empty sky and mirrored exactly in the still river, giving the scene a hushed, monumental quality.
Made during post‑Civil War government surveys, this work illustrates how photography bridged scientific documentation and aesthetic vision, shaping national views of the American West and influencing later landscape photographers.
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
87.1941.4
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
