Cañon of Kanab Wash, Colorado River, Looking North
1872
Medium
Albumen print
Dimensions
Image/paper: 27.6 × 20.2 cm (10 7/8 × 8 in.); Mount: 50 × 39.4 cm (19 11/16 × 15 9/16 in.)
Classification
albumen print from collodion negative
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
181273
Art Historical Context
In 1872, William H. Bell captured *Cañon of Kanab Wash, Colorado River, North* during the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Wheeler Survey, a government expedition mapping the uncharted American Southwest. As official photographer, Bell ventured into the rugged canyons near the Grand Canyon, framing this dramatic vista gazing northward along Kanab Wash the Colorado River. His image exemplifies the era's fascination with Manifest Destiny and the sublime power of Western landscapes, blending scientific documentation with artistic awe. Printed as an albumen print a collodion negative pioneering wet-...