- El Capitan at the Foot of the Mariposa Trail
- Tutocanula. El Capitan. Yosemite. 3600 feet.
Sheet: 15 1/2 × 20 1/2 in. (39.4 × 52.1 cm)
Mount: 20 13/16 × 26 13/16 in. (52.9 × 68.1 cm)
Explore Further
Carleton Watkins’s photographs of Yosemite and other sites
in the American West are among the most masterful and influential examples of
landscape photography in the medium’s history. With no practical means of
enlarging, Watkins’s glass negatives had to be as large as he wished the prints
to be, and his camera large enough to accommodate them. Furthermore, the glass
negatives had to be coated, exposed, and developed while the sticky collodion
emulsion remained tacky, requiring the photographer to transport a mobile
darkroom as he explored the terrain of the American West. Yet, Watkins artistry
triumphed over adversity. The New York Times called the photographs
“indescribably unique and beautiful.”
ProvenanceThe University Club, New York; [Swann Galleries, New York, May 10, 1979]; purchased by [Weston Gallery, Carmel, California]; 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 on applied label verso, upper center of frame backing board: Fraenkel Gallery // 49 GEARY STREET SAN FRANCISCO 94108 // CARLETON WATKINS // El Capitan at the Foot of the Mariposa Trail [underlined] // 1865-66 // mammoth-plate albumen print on original mount // 15-1/2 x 20-1/2 inches (image & sheet) // 20-7/8 x 26 7/8 inches (mount) // 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 // 'No. 12' inscribed on mount in pencil // [CEW.0486.YR]
Printed and inscribed on applied label verso, lower right corner: TRU VUE OPTIUM // PLEXIGLAS // 93% UV Filtering // 10/19/13
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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