Bomen aan de oever van een water in de Verenigde Staten c. 1880 - 1900

George Fiske created this photograph, "Bomen aan de oever van een water in de Verenigde Staten," which translates to "Trees on the Shore of a Water in the United States," sometime during his career. Fiske arrived in California during the Gold Rush, and became known for his landscape photography, particularly of Yosemite Valley. His work captures the dramatic beauty of the American West, coinciding with a period of significant westward expansion and the growing environmental consciousness in the United States. However, this imagery often overlooked the displacement and marginalization of Indigenous peoples, whose ancestral lands were being transformed into tourist destinations. Fiske’s photographs, while undeniably beautiful, were also implicated in a complex narrative of American identity. They participated in the construction of a national mythos of pristine wilderness, ignoring the complex histories and diverse experiences of all who lived there. Look at how the quiet stillness of the water evokes a sense of peace, while the dense trees could be seen as guarding secrets of the past. The photograph invites us to consider the ways in which landscapes are not just physical spaces, but also cultural and historical ones.