Gateway, Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak
| Artist | William Henry Jackson (American, 1843–1942) |
|---|---|
| Title | Gateway, Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak |
| Date | After 1880 |
| Medium | Mammoth-plate albumen print |
| Dimensions | Image: 17 1/16 × 21 1/4 in. (43.3 × 54 cm) Sheet: 19 3/16 × 23 3/8 in. (48.7 × 59.4 cm) Mount: 19 3/16 × 23 3/8 in. (48.7 × 59.4 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 82.40.2 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
This image depicts large rock formations in a desert landscape. Two tall, cliff-like formations are standing at the left and the right sides of the image, framing a smaller, moundlike formation at the center.
While many early Western landscape photographers made topographical records, William Henry Jackson was one of the first to recognize the artistic and commercial potential of his imagery. He first visited this site in 1873, while associated with F. V. Hayden’s U. S. Geological Surveys of the Yellowstone River and Rocky Mountains. His majestic images from these trips—along with those of the landscape painter Thomas Moran—proved the existence of these scenic wonders and spurred a campaign to designate Yellowstone as our first national park.
In 1879 Jackson opened a commercial gallery in Denver and began taking commissions from mining and railway interests; the latter of which sought to promote tourism along rail routes. To meet this demand, he re-shot popular sites (such as this one), utilizing a new, easier, dry-plate printing process to create mammoth plates.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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"Gateway, Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=82.40.2