Limestone Walls, Kanab Wash, Colorado River
1872
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Weston J. Naef, in memory of Edward Dawes Meanor, 1979
Accession Number
1979.675.3
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the dramatic vastness of the American Southwest with William Bell's *Limestone Walls, Kan Wash, Colorado River*1872), an albumen silver print from a glass that captures the towering, striated limestone formations along this rugged tributary of the Colorado River. the official photographer for Lieutenant George M. Wheeler's U.S. Army expedition surveying the West from 1869 to 1879, Bell documented uncharted territories with a keen eye for nature's sublime power. This image, likely taken during the 1871-1872 Colorado River campaign, reveals the raw geology of what would later inspire awe in explorers like John Wesley Powell. The albumen silver print process, a hallmark of 19th-century photography, lent Bell's work its signature clarity, rich tonal range, and luminous detail—achieved by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts from large glass negatives. This medium was ideal for expedition photography, producing durable prints that could be widely shared to educate the public about America's frontier landscapes. Bell's composition emphasizes verticality and texture, evoking the grandeur of mountains and canyons without human presence, aligning with Romantic ideals of untamed wilderness. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Photographs Department, this gift from Mr. and Mrs. Weston J. Naef preserves a pivotal moment in visual exploration. It not only charts physical terrain but also symbolizes Manifest Destiny's push westward, inviting visitors to ponder the enduring allure of these ancient, wind-sculpted walls.
About the Artist
William Bell · 1830–1910
William Bell (1830–1910) was an English-born American photographer whose career bridged medical documentation and the exploration of the American West. Born in Liverpool, England, he immigrated to the United States and served in the Mexican-American War of 1846–48. After the conflict, he entered the emerging field of photography by partnering with his brother-in-law, the Philadelphia daguerreotypi...