Grand Cañon, Colorado River, Near Paria Creek, Looking East
1872
Medium
Albumen print
Dimensions
Image/paper: 27.5 × 20.3 cm (10 7/8 × 8 in.); Album page: 49.8 × 38.2 cm (19 5/8 × 15 1/16 in.)
Classification
albumen print from collodion negative
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
181337
Art Historical Context
Step into the vast wilderness of the American West with William H. Bell's *Grand Cañon, River, Near Paria, Looking East* (1872), an albumen print that captures the dramatic scale and rugged beauty of the Grand Canyon. Created during a time of intense exploration, this image looks eastward along the Colorado River, showcasing towering cliffs and the serpentine path of water carving through ancient rock—a testament to nature's sublime power. Bell, a pioneering photographer, documented this scene as part of Lieutenant George M. Wheeler's U.S. Army survey expedition, one of several 19th-century e...