Getting to Know: American Photographer William Henry Jackson

Art has long been used by companies to make their products and services more attractive to potential consumers. By the 1880s, railroad companies had completed many of their main lines across the American West and had started extending branches to more remote regions. Realizing that views of the newly opened terrain would stimulate travel, the companies hired photographers to create picturesque photographs along the new routes. Born in Keesville, New York, William Henry Jackson made train scenes his specialty during these years of expansion, and he quickly became the leading photographer of the genre. Generally working out of his own private railcars, Jackson enjoyed complete freedom of movement, traveling whenever and wherever he liked. In return, the railroad companies gained beautifully composed eighteen-by-twenty-two-inch prints of remote canyons and mountains to display on the walls of their rail stations and ticket offices. They also received numerous smaller views for sale to tourists. 

William Henry Jackson (1843–1942), Canon of the Rio Las Animas, 1882, albumen silver print, printed 1883, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, P1971.94.18

This photograph features a view along the Animas River in southwestern Colorado and is one of Jackson’s most spectacular works. Made in the late summer of 1882, you can see the photographer’s train perched on the steep cliff. Located far in the distance, the telegraph line and bridge reassure viewers that this is just one stop along a vast, new national rail network. This image suggests a comfortable trip into the grand, slightly dangerous wilderness—exactly the kind of scene to capture the imagination of wealthy Easterners looking for vacation excitement.

However, to me, the most impressive element of this photograph is not the view it records, but the process used to create it. Albumen silver prints were made from glass-plate negatives using the wet-plate process. The plates had to be coated with a layer of collodion immediately before use and developed before the collodion dried. Just imagine Jackson working in the field with his glass plates and hazardous chemicals to produce this image!

Jackson was no stranger to important photographic projects like the railroad surveys. In 1870, he was hired by leaders of the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories to travel with the Hayden Survey and make pictures of the American West and Southwest. He also worked for the Bureau of Ethnology in Washington, D.C., taking portraits of American Indian delegates to the Capitol.

The next time you see an advertisement, think about images’ ability to persuade you, and then tip your hat to artists like William Henry Jackson who so creatively compose their motivating works.

Explore further:
William Henry Jackson at the J. Paul Getty Museum
William Henry Jackson on Artcyclopedia

-Stacy Fuller