Getty Museum

"The Loop" near Georgetown, Colorado

Creator

American Photographer · 1843–1942

Artist

From age twelve until age ninety-nine, William Henry Jackson was involved on some level with photography. After a tour of duty in the Civil War, he headed West and eventually settled in Omaha, Nebraska, where he opened a portrait photography studio with his brother Edward. As Jackson explained, however, "Portrait photography never had any charms for me, so I sought my subjects from the house-tops,

More on Getty ULAN

Date: about 1885
Medium: Albumen silver print
Culture: American
Department: Photographs
Institution: Getty Museum

A steam engine winds through the steep, rocky terrain of the American West on a tightly curved loop of track above a rushing river--an exciting sight for viewers in the 1800s. Since railroad tracks commonly passed through areas that were previously inaccessible, such landscapes were often unfamiliar. Railroad photographers sought to depict the grand engineering achievements of the trains in ways that would most appeal to their potential customers. As part of an awe-inspiring landscape, bridges, tunnels, and loops like this one appeared even more magnificent.

View at Getty Museum ↗

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page

See at Getty Museum

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Getty Museum and other institutions.