Rooster Rock, Columbia River, No. 1228 from the series "Watkins' Pacific Coast"

Art Historical Context

Step into the dramatic landscapes of the American West with *Rooster Rock, Columbia River, No.1228* from Carleton Watkins' pioneering series *"Watkins' Pacific Coast (1867). Carleton Watkins, a masterful 19th-century photographer ventured across California's rugged terrain and the Pacific Northwest, capturing the sublime beauty of untouched wilderness during a time of rapid westward expansion. This image showcases the towering basalt formation of Rooster Rock along the majestic Columbia River, a natural landmark that symbolized the untamed power of America's frontier. Crafted as an albumen stereograph—a pair of 8 × 7.6 cm images mounted on an 8.7 × 17.5 cm card—this print exemplifies Watkins' technical brilliance. Albumen, made from egg whites sensitized with silver salts, produced rich tonal depth and fine detail, while the stereo format created a vivid three-dimensional illusion when viewed through a stereoscope. Popular in Victorian parlors, these "3D postcards" brought distant wonders to life, fueling public fascination with the West and supporting tourism and conservation efforts, much like Watkins' famed Yosemite views. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Photography and Media department, this diminutive yet immersive work highlights Watkins' role in elevating photography as fine art, preserving ephemeral vistas for generations to admire.

About the Artist

Carleton Watkins · 1829–1916

Carleton Watkins (1829–1916) was an American photographer whose majestic landscape photographs of the American West, particularly of Yosemite Valley, rank among the most important images in the history of photography. Born in Oneonta, New York, he moved to California during the Gold Rush era and learned photography in San Francisco in the late 1850s. In 1861, Watkins made his first trip to Yosemi...