Personally, I think artistically speaking, Watkins is somewhat lacking - but I blame it on the need to carry heavy plates and needing to coat them right then and there. That must limit his choice of views. I agree with the assessment that "Cape Horn" is the best work. Kind of gloomy though.
Stanford Cantor Museum is one of the best reasons to live close by :-)
I think you need to look again.
Watkins lived an amazing and difficult life - I wonderful read. My favorite books are: Charleton Watkins the art of perception - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - Abrams 1999, and an wonderful book written by Terry Toedtemeier (who worked at the Portland Art Museum) and John Lauresen the book: Wild Beauty - photographs of the Columbia River Gorge, 1867-1957 - Oregon State University Press 2008. Sadly Terry died while promotion this book in a Hood River bookstore. There are a number of beautiful Watkins images in this book. Watkins mammoth plate images are unbelievable. Taken between 1865 or so and the 1980's they document much of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Nevada......
It is an error, in my opinion, to view historical photographers [or artists] through the modern lens. Watkin's work is an interesting
blend of art and documentation. His conception of what he was doing and why, might indeed be far from what is accepted and taught
today as "Art".
Originally Posted by richardman
That's sort of my point, actually. By contemporary standards, especially after all the great ones that follow, some people, such as myself, may find Watkin's photos lacking. However, given the historical context, then it's very different. He was a true pioneer that few of us could aspire to become His technical printing skills were also excellent, as the photo where some studio got hold of his negs and printed them demonstrate: it was just not as good as Watkin's.
Of course, this is IMHO and I'm sure there are people who like Watkin, even without any historical context. YMMV etc. etc. Certainly not meaning to lessen Watkin's stature and impact.
The other point of what Watkins was doing was documenting. And the volume of his work was huge. The mammoth prints of the 1863 Yo-Semite survey were sent to Washington DC and went to be seen by then President Lincoln and Congress. They help persuade the Congress to pass legislation to preserve Yosemite Valley which was signed by President Lincoln. Much of what Watkins was doing was documenting the wondrous and wild West. In their day they were spectacular (they still are)! I was luck enough to acquire an 1868 mammoth print of Glacier Point in Yosemite some years ago. In 1864 Fredrick Law Olmstead consulted with Watkins, as to how to preserve Yosemite. Watkins joins the California State Geological Survey and packs 2,000 pounds of materials - enough for 100 mammoth images to photograph is Yosemite - by mule. Hand coating the emulsion on the glass and developing the plates in a tent. Then packing the developed plates over 18x22 inches to San Francisco to have albumen prints made from them. Watkins images win the Grand Prize at the Paris. In 1866 his work is published widely in the press (info from Peter Palmquest's wonderful Chronology at the back of Carelton Watkins the Art of Perception. Mr Palmquest is one of the great authorities on Carelton Watkins). Watkins goes broke and losses many of his earlier negatives in the bankruptcy in 1875 (Tabor gains ownership of Watkins earlier negatives). He travels and photographs extensively in the West, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana. In 1895-96 he is unable to pay rent and lives with his family in an abandoned railroad car for 18 months. After this period he is nearly blind - his prints are made by his son and Charles Beebe Turrill. In 1903-04 his photographs are exhibited at the Lewis and Clark Exposition - on behalf of the State of California. In 1905 the California State Library purchases some of his work. In 1906 he is wiped out by the San Fransisco Earthquake - where everything is destroyed. 1909 his is declared incompetent. 1910 he is committed to the Napa State Hospital for the insane. He dies in 1916. In this period of time in the west his contemporaries were documenting as well: Muybridge, Vroman, Sullivan, etc.
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