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PHOTOGRAPHY
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Band of Apaches
By Camillus S. Fly (1849-1901)
1886, 13" X 16"
Modern gelatin silver print
Collection Smithsonian Institution |
AND THE OLD WEST AN EXHIBIT DOCUMENTING THE TRANSFORMATION
OF THE AMERICAN WEST August 26 through October 11, 1998 |
 Southern Pacific Railroad
of Arizona and Crew
By Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916)
No date, 20" X 26"
Modern gelatin silver print
Collection Huntington Library
San Marino, California |
PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE OLD WEST Experience the West as it was -- before it was transformed
forever by the great migration that followed the end of the Civil War. As
photography and the West came of age together, America's first field
photographers packed their cumbersome equipment and joined the surveyors,
explorers, and pioneers as they pushed the frontiers back. This collection of
rare and historic photos will take you back in time and on a journey westward
through the eyes and camera of the noted nineteenth century photographers who
captured unforgettable images of a new land and its people.
Exhibit runs August 26 through October 11, 1998
Related
Daily Bulletin Article |
| MUSEUM
OF HISTORY AND ART, ONTARIO 225
South Euclid Avenue Ontario, California
91761 (909) 983-3198 Free Admission * Public is Welcome ************************* Free
Public Programs All programs will be
held at the Museum
of History and Art Ontario,
California |
Westward the Course of
Empire Takes its Way
By Alexander Gardner
1867 Collection Huntington Library
San Marino, California |
At the Corner of Past and Present II
September 12 and 19 10:30 a.m. both days A two-part photomural workshop for children and adults. Space is
limited. Pre-registration is required.
Conducted by Steve Thomas, Photographer
and Collections Manager, California Museum of
Photography, UC Riverside.
Co-sponsored by: The Arts Council for San
Bernardino County. |
Picturing Conquest: Photography in the Old West September 17 - 7:00 p.m. Slide presentation and discussion
illuminating the role of photography
in creating popular portrayals of the American
West. Presented by Jennifer Watts,
Curator of Photographs, Huntington Library |
Photography and the Old West is
organized by the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. It is toured
nationally by Exhibits USA and in California by the California Exhibition
Resources Alliance, a program of the California Council for the Humanities.
EHIBITS USA: A NATIONAL DIVISION OF
MID-AMERICA ARTS ALLLIANCE
Museum of History and
Art Ontario
California Council For the Humanities
A Note to the Teacher
| This packet is a study and activity guide
for Photography and the Old West, a temporary exhibit featuring
the work of pioneer photographers who documented the exploration and settlement
of the American West. The exhibit is open from August 26 through October 11,
1998.
This packet contains background and overview
information about the museum and Photography and the Old West. We invite
you to bring your class to the museum to tour the exhibit. We request a
two-week advance on all tours. Call (909) 983-3198 to reserve
your time. We also request one adult chaperon to every 10-12 children.
Regardless of the number of adults, we expect all classes to be orderly and well
behaved. |
About the Museum
 Museum
of History and Art Ontario |
The Museum of History and
Art, Ontario is operated by the City of Ontario with support from the Museum of
History and Art, Ontario Associates and the Chaffey Community Art Association.
Public open hours are Wednesday through Sunday from noon until 4:00 p.m. Tour
appointments can be reserved Wednesday through Friday mornings (9 a.m. to 12
noon) for school groups who schedule their tours two weeks in advance.
Admission is free but donations are appreciated. |
About your Visit
| The museum's address is
225 South Euclid Avenue, Ontario. We are located one block south of Holt
Boulevard on the east side of Euclid Avenue, at the corner of Euclid Avenue and
Transit Street. Bus parking and unloading is available in our parking lot or on
Transit Street.
The entrance is located on the north side of
the building. If you visit before noon, the doors may be locked. Please ring the
bell to the right of the double wooden doors.
Our courtyard is a pleasant spot for a sack
lunch. We do not permit lunches to be eaten or carried into the galleries so
please bring a large box for the lunches and we will help you stash them safely
until lunchtime. In general, we prefer no more than 15-20 children in each of
the two gallery wings at one time. If you visit with another class, please be
prepared to break into groups.
Many groups will also walk around the museum
building and view the grounds. A scavenger hunt designed for exploring the
outside of the museum building is available for teachers to photocopy before
their appointed tour date.
The Ontario City Library, City Hall, the
Police and Fire departments, the Euclid Avenue Mule Car and Community Bandstand
are all located within walking distance from the museum. We have two designated
handicapped parking spaces. The museum building is wheelchair accessible.
A few words about our exhibits and
artifacts. We ask all of our
visitors to exercise self-discipline and refrain from touching any artifacts
unless specifically invited to do so by our gallery attendant. |
About the exhibit:
Photography and the old West
| Photography and the Old
West includes modern black and white photographs printed from vintage
negatives made by photographers such as Solomon D. Butcher, Carleton E.
Watkins, William Henry Jackson, Timothy H. O'Sullivan, Adam Clark Vroman.
These photographers worked in the American West during the last half of the
19th century, and their reasons for going west (as well as their
choices of what to document) varied as much as their individual methods and
styles.
Many of the photographers documented the
geography of the West for government sponsored surveys. Other recorded the
expansion of the railroad. Still others depicted the lives of the Native
Americans, frontier settlers, or the natural wonders of the West. |
Brief History of
Photography
| The introduction of modern
photography began with the daguerreotype, invented by Louis-Jacques-Maude
Daguerre in 1839. A small, highly detailed image formed on a silver-coated
copper plate, the daguerreotype was very fragile, and not suitable for
duplication. In addition, its exposure time ranged between one minute to an
hour.
Despite these restrictions, the daguerreotype
was immensely popular in the United States. Although daguerreotypes were used
mainly for portraits, during the 1840s and 1850s some daguerreotypists tried to
adapt the technique to landscape photography, without success. Without a
photographic process that would allow multiple prints to be made, landscape and
travel photography could not be accomplished.
In 1851, the introduction of the wet-collodion
process finally gave photographers the ability to make duplicate prints and the
ability to capture their views in a relatively short exposure time. |
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