Wall in the Grand Cañon, Colorado River
Medium
Albumen print, from the album "Geographical & Geological Explorations & Surveys West of the 100th Meridian," vol. 2
Dimensions
Image/paper: 27.4 × 20.1 cm (10 13/16 × 7 15/16 in.); Album page: 49.7 × 38.1 cm (19 5/8 × 15 in.)
Classification
albumen print from collodion negative
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
181398
Art Historical Context
Step into the awe-inspiring vastness of the American West with Timothy O'Sullivan's *Wall in the Grand Caon, Colorado River* (1871). Captured during the U.S. Army's Geographical and Geological Explorations and Surveys of the 100th—led by Lieutenant George Wheeler—this albumen print documents one of the earliest photographic expeditions into the Grand Canyon. O'Sullivan, a pioneering photographer known for his work with Mathew Brady during the Civil War, hauled heavy equipment through rugged terrain to reveal the canyon's sheer cliffs and the serpentine Colorado River below, offering 19th-centu...
About the Artist
Timothy O'Sullivan · 1840–1882
Timothy H. O'Sullivan (c. 1840–1882) emerged as one of America's pioneering photographers during a transformative era. His early life remains sparsely documented, with records suggesting he was born either in New York City or Ireland before immigrating young, possibly growing up on Staten Island. As a teenager, he apprenticed under Mathew Brady at his Fulton Street gallery in New York, mastering w...