[Yosemite National Park, California]
ca. 1878
![[Yosemite National Park, California] by Carleton E. Watkins](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/yosemite-national-park-california-732777.webp)
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 12.5 x 12.5 cm (4 15/16 x 4 15/16 in.), circular Album page: 24 x 25.1 cm (9 7/16 x 9 7/8 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.556 (51)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Carleton E. Watkins, pioneering 19th-century, captured the majestic beauty of Yosemite National Park this circa 1878 albumen silver print. Titled *[Yosemite National Park,]*, the image presents a circular vista of 12.5 x 12.5 cm, showcasing the park's dramatic landscapes and winding rivers. Produced from a glass negative, this intimate square-format photograph was mounted on a larger album page, inviting viewers to ponder the sublime power of nature. Watkins' work was instrumental in promoting Yosemite's preservation; his stunning vistas helped convince Congress to establish it as the world's...
About the Artist
Carleton E. Watkins · 1829–1916
Carleton E. Watkins (1829–1916), one of America's pioneering landscape photographers, was born on November 11, 1829, in Oneonta, New York, the eldest of eight children to carpenter John Watkins and innkeeper Julia. Drawn by the Gold Rush, he arrived in San Francisco in 1851 at age 22 alongside childhood friend Collis Huntington, who later became a railroad tycoon. Initially working as a carpenter ...