James King of William. Keyston State etc. Calaveras Grove 1876 - 1880

Carleton Watkins made this albumen print, "James King of William. Keyston State etc. Calaveras Grove," during the 1860s, a period of rapid expansion and transformation in the American West. Watkins’s photographs of Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias played a crucial role in shaping national perceptions of the American landscape and its natural resources. His images were instrumental in the establishment of Yosemite as a national park in 1864, reflecting the growing conservation movement. Yet we must also recognize that this movement occurred in the context of the violent displacement of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands. Watkins's photographs, while celebrating the grandeur of nature, often elided the complex histories and cultural connections of Native communities with these landscapes. Consider how these images, circulated widely, contributed to a narrative of untouched wilderness, obscuring the presence and rights of indigenous populations. Doesn't the emotional impact of these serene landscapes complicate our understanding of progress and preservation?