One of the major monuments of early photography of the American West, this collection of nineteenth-century albumen prints documents a series of expeditions sponsored by the U.S. Army and led by Lieut. George M. Wheeler. Intended to aid and promote the future settlement of the West, the "Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian," better known as the Wheeler Survey, employed photographers Timothy O'Sullivan and William Bell to supplement geological and topographical maps with photographic illustrations.

Dating from 1871 to 1873, the now iconic photographs include some of the earliest images taken of the Grand Canyon and of Native American tribes and sites in northern Arizona and New Mexico. Possessing great beauty as well as meticulous detail, these photographs acted as powerful tools of persuasion revealing both the artists' personal vision and the larger cultural message of manifest destiny.

Timothy H. O'Sullivan (1840 - 1882)
Entrance to Black Cañon, Colorado River, From Above,
1871
albumen print
museum purchase
© Addison Gallery of American Art