Carleton E. Watkins
El Capitan at the Foot of the Mariposa Trail

Public Domain

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Images(2)

Artist Carleton E. Watkins(American, 1829–1916)American, 1829–1916

CultureAmerican

Titles

El Capitan at the Foot of the Mariposa Trail
Tutocanula. El Capitan. Yosemite. 3600 feet.

Date1861

Place depictedCalifornia, United States

MediumAlbumen silver print from glass negative

DimensionsImage: 15 1/2 × 20 1/2 in. (39.4 × 52.1 cm)
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)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment

Object number2017.424

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 208

On view

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Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

Description

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. His breathtaking views of natural wonders in the West—lands still largely unexplored when he photographed them in the 1860s—pictured the region as a new Eden. At the time, such images were not only admired for their aesthetic beauty but also helped convince the government back East that areas like Yosemite ought to enjoy federal protection.

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

Inscribed in pencil, upper right, above image: 12.

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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