Cañon of Kanab Wash, Colorado River, Looking South 1872

"Cañon of Kanab Wash, Colorado River, Looking South," created by William Bell in 1872, is a striking example of 19th-century landscape photography. This albumen print captures the dramatic grandeur of the Colorado River's canyon, with towering rock formations and the meandering riverbed in the foreground. The image, housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, exemplifies the artistic and scientific value of early photography in documenting the American West. The photograph's stark beauty and sense of scale invite viewers to contemplate the vastness and untamed nature of the American landscape.