Spoorwegbrug en -tunnel nabij Morgan, Utah 1868

Curator: This is William Henry Jackson's photograph "Spoorwegbrug en -tunnel nabij Morgan, Utah," taken in 1868. Editor: It has such a subdued, almost ghostly feel, doesn’t it? All muted earth tones. Like looking at a memory. Curator: A fitting mood, considering it documents the monumental feat of connecting America by rail. What intrigues me most is Jackson's mastery of composition. See how the bridge acts as a kind of intermediary zone? Editor: Between the imposing natural landscape and human ambition? Exactly. The geometry of that bridge contrasts sharply with the rough-hewn mountains. Curator: It certainly captures the tension inherent in taming the Wild West. There’s something poetic, isn’t there, about the way that tiny tunnel seems to vanish into the rock face? Editor: You nailed it. The vanishing point invites the eye and suggests boundless expansion but also underscores the vulnerability of that tunnel—like a tiny wound carved into the landscape. The sepia tone adds a real historical heft. Curator: Sepia was quite common then, a practical and aesthetic choice. That tonality creates a certain sense of timelessness—a quality echoed in other Western landscape photographers who looked to capture the sublime. It suggests vast distances and monumental scale. Editor: Yes, and to consider that this "realistic" landscape, in its early days of being seen by the average public, played into the national mythology. This image flattens our contemporary viewpoint, suggesting that both progress and time take on an element of unreality when memorialized as part of the 'national story'. Curator: So much about that era was about creating those national stories. Thank you, William Henry Jackson, for creating the chance for this dialogue. Editor: Yes, indeed. The convergence of man and nature in those early prints is hard to deny!