Grand Cañon of the Colorado River, Mouth of Kanab Wash, Looking West
1872
Medium
Albumen print
Dimensions
Image/paper: 27.5 × 20.4 cm (10 7/8 × 8 1/16 in.); Album page: 49.7 × 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
181335
Art Historical Context
Step into the vast, awe-inspiring depths of the American West with William H. Bell's *Grand Cañon of the River, Mouth of Kan Wash, Looking West*1872). This striking albumen print captures the landscape at the mouth of Kanab Wash, gazing westward into the rugged chasm of the Grand Canyon. Bell, a pioneering photographer, masterfully frames the towering rock formations and winding river, evoking the sublime power of untamed nature during a time when such remote vistas were still mysteries to most. Created as part of the U.S. Army's Wheeler Survey (1871–1873), led by Lieutenant George M. Wheeler...