2-726-768 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Currecanti Needle, Black Cañon of the Gunnison, before 1880. Recognized as one of the foremost photographers of the American West, William Henry Jackson was introduced to the western landscape when he served as official photographer for the US Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories from 1870 to 1878. Photographed in Colorado for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, this image was produced during a period when Jackson specialized in landscape commissions for the railroads. Here the artist carefully recorded the details of receding railroad tracks, the gracefully curving Gunnison River, and the textures of an intriguing rock formation known as Currecanti Needle. At the same time, he exploited the inherent drama and romanticism of the landscape in order to entice travelers and settlers to the West.