Bear Lake, LVRR
William H. Rau (American, 1855–1920)
c. 1898–99
Medium
albumen print from gelatin dry plate negative
Dimensions
image: 43.5 × 51.9 cm · matted: 55.9 × 66 cm
Classification
Photograph
Department
Photography
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1988.88
Tags
male
About this artwork
A distinguished commercial and documentary landscape photographer in Philadelphia, William H. Rau was commissioned in the 1890s by the Lehigh Valley Railroad to execute a series of scenic views along a new line. Realizing photography's advertising potential, the railroad company employed Rau to select picturesque subjects that might be seen while traveling by rail. Contact-printed from a mammoth plate negative, the landscape's shapes, textures, and tonal ranges are richly detailed.