Smithsonian American Art Museum
Framing the West: The Survey Photographs of Timothy H. O'Sullivan
February 12, 2010 – May 9, 2010
Timothy H. O'Sullivan (1840-1882) spent six seasons between 1867 and 1874 in the mountain and desert west as photographer for government-sponsored geological surveys and expeditions led by Clarence King and Lt. George Wheeler. His photographs go beyond mere documentation of newly explored landscapes; they show a forthright and rigorous style formed in response to the American West. This first major look at O'Sullivan's photographs in more than 25 years features more than 80 of his photographs and sterographs and explores the artist's images, the conditions under which they were made, the influences that shaped his work, and his continuing influence on American photography.
Catalogue
Presented in collaboration with the Library of Congress.
