Ancient Ruins in the Cañon de Chelle, New Mexico Territory

Artist Timothy H. O'Sullivan (American, born Ireland, 1840 - 1882)

Date1873

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsImage and sheet: 10 13/16 × 7 7/8 inches (27.46 × 20 cm)
Mount: 18 3/4 × 15 3/8 inches (47.63 × 39.05 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.240

Inscribedfull title on mount: "Cañon de Chelle, Ancient Ruins in the Canon de Chelle, N.M. In a niche 50 feet above present Canon bed. No. 11."

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionLandscape image with a black hole (cave) surrounded by sheer cliffs with dramatic striations.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Perpetual Mirage: The Desert West in American Photographic Books and Prints. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, June 27 - September 22, 1996, unnumbered, as Ancient Ruins in the Cañon de Chelle, N.M.

Developing Greatness: The Origins of American Photography, 1839-1885. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, June 9 – December 30, 2007, no. 399.

Landscapes East/Landscapes West: Representing Nature from Mount Fuji to Canyon de Chelly. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, August 27, 2011 - April 15, 2012, no cat.

Gallery Label

In addition to his work for Clarence King, O'Sullivan was the primary photographer for George M. Wheeler's Geological Surveys West of the 100th Meridian, from 1871 to 1873. The 100th Meridian-which runs north-south from the middle of North Dakota into Texas-was considered the boundary between the moist East and the arid West. This iconic view of ancient Anasazi cliff dwellings was made at Canyon de Chelly, in what is now northeast Arizona.

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