Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton, California
1902
Medium
Photography-Photoprint
Classification
Photography-Photoprint
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mitchell and Nancy Steir
Accession Number
2004.29.33
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled high on Mount Hamilton in California, this 190 photoprint captures the majesticick Observatory, a pinnacle of early American astronomical ambition. Completed just over a decade earlier, the observatory symbolized the nation's growing fascination with the stars during the Gilded Age, when philanthropy and scientific exploration converged. The image, taken by an unidentified photographer, offers a timeless view of its distinctive dome and rugged surroundings, evoking the awe of pioneers who gazed skyward from this elevated perch. As a photoprint—a gelatin silver process common in the ea...
About the Artist
Unidentified ( ) · –