Alcatraz Island, San Francisco
1863, printed ca. 1876
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Carole and Irwin Lainoff, Ruth P. Lasser and Joseph R. Lasser, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Marvin, Martin E. and Joan Messinger, Richard L. Yett and Sheri and Paul Siegel, 1986
Accession Number
1986.1189.10
Tags
About this artwork
This photographs by american artist Carleton E. Watkins exemplifies the artistic achievements of 1863, printed ca. 1876. American artists of this period were establishing distinct visual traditions while engaging with European artistic movements. Crafted in albumen silver print from glass negative, this object demonstrates the exceptional skill of glassmakers during this period. Glass production required mastery of high-temperature furnace work, understanding of material chemistry, and refined a...
About the Artist
Carleton E. Watkins · 1829–1916
Carleton E. Watkins (1829–1916), one of America's pioneering landscape photographers, was born on November 11, 1829, in Oneonta, New York, the eldest of eight children to carpenter John Watkins and innkeeper Julia. Drawn by the Gold Rush, he arrived in San Francisco in 1851 at age 22 alongside childhood friend Collis Huntington, who later became a railroad tycoon. Initially working as a carpenter ...