Westzijde van Eagle River Canyon in Colorado c. 1860 - 1900

Editor: Here we have William Henry Jackson’s “Westzijde van Eagle River Canyon in Colorado,” an albumen print dating somewhere between 1860 and 1900. I find it quite evocative—it has this real sense of scale and wildness, despite its relatively small size. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a dreamscape, or maybe a memory. That soft-focus river feels almost like a flowing ribbon of time, doesn’t it? It really reminds me of the Hudson River School painters—they had a way of idealizing nature, didn’t they, capturing it just as the wild west was facing down modern America. This canyon feels caught between those worlds, between something being remembered, and something becoming… Editor: Like a time capsule? Curator: Exactly! The textures—the rocky slopes, the stark trees—it's like Jackson is showing us the very bones of the continent. Have you ever felt that when you're really in the wilderness? Editor: Definitely. A sense of ancient, almost geological time. And a kind of lonely beauty. Curator: Beautifully put. That albumen print gives it that almost sepia-toned sense of history as well. He wanted you to feel like you were THERE. He trekked across the country. A little dramatic license here and there to catch the viewers, but very brave. So I'm curious: what does this 'wildness' actually tell *you*? Editor: It makes me think about preservation. Of both land and memory. Curator: And it asks you the crucial question, right? What wilderness can we find, that we keep and preserve for our children?