Cold Water Canon inside Jug, showing east entrance, No. 1037 from the series "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River"
1870/1908
Medium
Albumen print, stereo
Dimensions
Each image: 10 × 7.4 cm (3 15/16 × 2 15/16 in.); Card: 10.7 × 17.7 cm (4 1/4 × 7 in.)
Classification
photography
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
198373
Art Historical Context
Henry Hamilton Bennett, a pioneering American photographer, captured this stereoscopic view of Cold Water Canyon as part of his celebrated series documenting the dramatic sandstone formations of the Wisconsin Dells. Active from the 1860s onward, Bennett helped transform the Dells from a remote natural site into a celebrated tourist destination, using his images to showcase the region’s unique geology and inviting vistas. The title’s reference to the “Jug” and east entrance highlights the canyon’s distinctive, enclosed rock formations, which visitors could explore by boat or on foot. This albu...
About the Artist
Henry Hamilton Bennett · 1843–1908
Henry Hamilton Bennett (1843–1908) was a pioneering American photographer whose breathtaking images of the Wisconsin Dells transformed a rugged river gorge into one of the nation's premier tourist destinations. Born in Farnham, Quebec, Canada, on January 15, 1843, Bennett moved with his family to Brattleboro, Vermont, before settling in Kilbourn City (now Wisconsin Dells), Wisconsin, in 1857 at ag...