[Yosemite National Park, California] 1876 - 1880

Carleton Watkins made this albumen silver print of Yosemite National Park in the United States. Watkins's photographs are more than just pretty pictures; they played a key role in shaping the idea of the American West. His images tapped into a growing cultural interest in landscape, fueled by writers like Emerson and Thoreau. These images captured the sublime power of nature and the sense of national pride connected to the American landscape. By the time Watkins was working, America was expanding westward, and photography was a powerful tool to document that expansion. His photographs of Yosemite, for example, were used to promote tourism and advocate for the park's preservation as a national park, signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. Understanding this image fully requires looking into the history of conservation, the politics of landscape representation, and the role of photography in shaping national identity.