
Carleton E. WatkinsThe Sentinels, Calaveras 21

Carleton E. WatkinsMission Dolores, San Francisco

Carleton E. WatkinsThe Deer Park, Menlo Park, California

Largely made as commissioned projects, Watkins’s large-scale photographs document the complex making of the 49th state, spanning pristine nature, historic Spanish missions, emerging metropolises, and private estates.
Largely made as commissioned projects, Watkins’s large-scale photographs document the complex making of the 49th state, spanning pristine nature, historic Spanish missions, emerging metropolises, and private estates.
Measuring approximately 15 x 20 inches, Watkins’s large format albumen prints were among the largest photographs of their time. His masterful compositions of sweeping vistas and majestic waterfalls inspired land preservation efforts in the western U.S., including the creation of the National Park System.
Watkins’s photographs offer some of the earliest depictions of American settlements and the burgeoning industrialization of the mid-Columbia River to the Pacific Coast. Made on 15 x 20 inch glass plates painstakingly coated and developed on site, the photographs required transporting a cumbersome tent, glass plates, and chemicals.