[Yosemite National Park, California] 1876 - 1880

Carleton Watkins made this photograph of Yosemite National Park in California using the wet plate collodion process, a relatively new technology at the time. Watkins’s photographs, like those of other landscape photographers of the American West, played a crucial role in shaping public perceptions of the region. These idealized images, often circulated as stereo cards, contributed to the myth of the American frontier as a pristine, untouched wilderness. But of course, this was a false representation. These landscapes were already inhabited and shaped by indigenous peoples, whose presence was often erased or ignored in these photographs. Understanding the history of photography and its role in shaping public opinion is essential to viewing art like this critically. By researching the social and political context in which these images were made, we can better understand the complex and sometimes contradictory messages they convey.