Visor Ledge east of Stand Rock, No. 20 from the series "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River"
1870/1908
Medium
Albumen print, stereo
Dimensions
Each image: 8 × 7.4 cm (3 3/16 × 2 15/16 in.); Card: 8.8 × 17.7 cm (3 1/2 × 7 in.)
Classification
photography
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
197967
Art Historical Context
Henry Hamilton Bennett’s “Visor Ledge east of Stand Rock” belongs to his celebrated series “In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River,” produced between 1870 and 1908. Working in central Wisconsin, Bennett documented the dramatic sandstone formations along the Wisconsin River at a time when photography was still a relatively new medium. His stereo albumen prints, mounted on cards measuring roughly 3½ by 7 inches, were designed to be viewed through a stereoscope, giving viewers a vivid sense of depth and presence that brought the remote landscape into parlors across the country. The albume...
About the Artist
Henry Hamilton Bennett · 1843–1908
Henry Hamilton Bennett (1843–1908) was a pioneering American photographer whose breathtaking images of the Wisconsin Dells transformed a rugged river gorge into one of the nation's premier tourist destinations. Born in Farnham, Quebec, Canada, on January 15, 1843, Bennett moved with his family to Brattleboro, Vermont, before settling in Kilbourn City (now Wisconsin Dells), Wisconsin, in 1857 at ag...