Carleton E. Watkins
Willamette Falls, Oregon City

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Willamette Falls, Oregon City
Date1867
Place depictedOregon City, Oregon, United States
MediumAlbumen silver print from glass negative
DimensionsImage: 15 13/16 × 20 5/8 in. (40.2 × 52.4 cm)
Sheet: 15 13/16 × 20 5/8 in. (40.2 × 52.4 cm)
Mount: 21 5/8 × 27 in. (54.9 × 68.6 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment Fund
Object number2017.425
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 208
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

Carleton Watkins’s mammoth photographs of Yosemite and other
sites in the American West are among the most masterful and influential examples
of 19th-century landscape photography. Since glass negatives had to be coated,
exposed, and processed onsite, producing such photographs was an arduous task,
requiring an enormous camera, tripods, spare lenses, a darktent, 18 x 22-inch
glass plates, chemicals, and processing trays.



This view of Willamette Falls shows steamboats, mills,
landings, railroads, and residences clustered where rapids interrupted river
navigation. Such pictures were not condemnations of man’s intrusion upon
nature, but rather expressions of civilization’s ability to harness the vast
resources of a bountiful region and to live in harmony with nature.



ProvenanceUnidentified individual; purchased by [Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco]; purchased by Brian Little, New York /Montecito, California; by inheritance to Mrs. Brian Little, New York / Montecito, California; [Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco]; purchased by MFAH, 2017.

Exhibition History"Carleton Watkins: The Art of Perception," San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, May 28–September 07, 1999; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, October 5, 1999–January 9, 2000; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., February 20–May 7, 2000.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Printed in black ink, mount recto, center below image: Willamette Falls // Oregon City.

Printed on applied label verso, upper center of frame backing board: Fraenkel Gallery // 49 GEARY STREET SAN FRANCISCO 94108 // CARLETON E. WATKINS // Willamette Falls, Oregon City [underlined] // 1867 // mammoth-plate albumen print on original mount // 15-3/4 x 20-5/8 inches (image & sheet) // [40.0 x 52.4 cm] // 21-5/8 x 27 inches (mount) // [54.9 x 68.6 cm] // Exhibited: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Carleton // Watkins: The Art of Perception, [italicized] // and traveling exhibition to the Metropolitan Museum, NY // and the National Gallery of Art, // Washington, DC, 1999-2000 // calligraphic title recto on mount in ink // from the album Photographs of the // Columbia River and Oregon [italicized] // [CEW.0483.YR]

Printed on applied label verso, lower left corner: TRU VUE OPTIUM 99% // ALTHOUGH PLEXI PRODUCT, USE // NON-AMMONIA GLASS CLEANER // SPOT DESIGN

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

cropped recto of sheet
Carleton E. Watkins
1878–1881
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2010.1808
The Bridal Veil Falls, 900 feet, Yosemite, California
Carleton E. Watkins
1865–1866, printed 1880s
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2015.645
Yosemite Falls from Glacier Point
Carleton E. Watkins
1878–1881
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2014.955
Multnomah Falls, Cascades, Columbia River
Carleton E. Watkins
1867
Albumen silver print from glass negative
89.376
Cape Horn, Columbia River, Oregon
Carleton E. Watkins
1867
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2004.788
Amablis, Mariposa Grove
Carleton E. Watkins
1865
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2004.790
Down the Valley, Yosemite, Cathedral Rocks, El Capitan, Yosemite
Carleton E. Watkins
1865–1866
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2004.789
El Capitan at the Foot of the Mariposa Trail
Carleton E. Watkins
1861
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2017.424
Yosemite Valley from the “Best General View”
Carleton E. Watkins
1866
Albumen silver print
80.50
Dish
Mildred Watkins
c. 1915
Sterling silver and enamel
2004.1483
Hinged Loop Neckpiece with Three Bars
David Watkins
1974
Acrylic and sterling silver
2002.4179
Bracelet
David Watkins
1972
Silver and acrylic
2002.4177