From the Sentinel Dome, Down the Valley, Yosemite
Artist
Carleton E. Watkins
(American, 1829 - 1916)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1865-1866
MediumMammoth plate albumen print from glass negative
DimensionsOverall, Image: 16 × 20 5/8 in. (40.6 × 52.4 cm)
Overall, Mat: 21 × 27 in. (53.3 × 68.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 30 × 34 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (76.2 × 87.6 × 3.2 cm)
Overall, Mat: 21 × 27 in. (53.3 × 68.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 30 × 34 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (76.2 × 87.6 × 3.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by Michael Bakwin, Susan and David Goode, Penny and Peter Meredith, Nancy and Everett Martin, Mary Ellen and Daniel Dechert, Christina and George Kemp, and Amy and Kirk Levy
Object number2016.2
On View
Not on viewLabel TextCarleton Watkins American, 1829–1916 From the Sentinel Dome, Down the Valley, Yosemite, 1865–66 Albumen print (photograph) from a glass negative When Carleton Watkins published this photograph, few people had ever seen Yosemite’s dramatic landscape. Its soaring peaks and plunging cliffs shielded the area from settlers, and cumbersome camera equipment made photographs rare. To get this picture Watkins loaded a pack of mules with more than 2,000 pounds of baggage: an enormous camera, glass plates, processing chemicals, and camping supplies for a months-long journey. Watkins had to coat and process his plates on site, but if dust settled on the glass or if wind rustled the leaves during the long exposure, the image was ruined. His photograph gives little sense of this labor, however, as if capturing such beauty were no work at all. Museum purchase with funds provided by Michael Bakwin, Susan and David Goode, Penny and Peter Meredith, Nancy and Everrett Martin, Mary Ellen and Daniel Dechert, Christina and George Kemp, and Amy and Kirk Levy 2016.2 ProvenanceFrom east coast private collection to Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco. Purchased from Frankel Gallery by Chrysler Museum of Art, January 2016.Exhibition History"New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016. “In Search of the True Landscape,” Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, NL, February 18 – June 9, 2024.Published ReferencesHenk van der Liet et. al., _Het internationale landschap: Schilderen in de buitenlucht in de negentiende eeuw_, (Zwolle: Waanders Uitgevers with Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, 2023) 55.
