The House over a Stump of a Big Tree 1865 - 1866

"The House over a Stump of a Big Tree" is a striking photograph taken by Carleton E. Watkins in 1865-1866. This iconic image showcases a small white house built over the stump of a giant redwood tree, captured in striking detail through Watkins' expert use of the collodion process. This powerful image, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, serves as a testament to the grandeur of nature and the ingenuity of human adaptation. The juxtaposition of the monumental tree stump with the modest dwelling highlights the contrasting scales of the natural and human-made worlds, a theme prevalent in Watkins' work.