Carleton E. Watkins: Selected Views

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. Other commissioned projects offer some of the earliest depictions of complex development of California, and the burgeoning industrialization of the mid-Columbia River.

Ninteteenth century photograph of lightly forested fields with the Pacific Ocean in the background
Black and white photograph of a waterfall
Ninteteenth century photograph of a steam ship at a pier on a river with a mountain in the background
Ninteteenth century photograph of a trail through trees with a distant waterfall in the background
Ninteteenth century photograph of a waterfall between stone cliffsides
Ninteteenth century photograph of deer standing in the shade of a grove of trees
Ninteteenth century photograph of a large waterfall, coming off a cliff