America By Art: William Henry Jackson

 

"O the transporting, rapturous scene,
That rises to my sight!
Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight!

I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land;
Oh who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land."

On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand

Samuel Stennet

(1787)

Sand Hills 

William Henry Jackson.

 Prolific artist and photographer,

Oregon Trail bullwhacker, world traveler,
 and veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg,

William Henry Jackson was an eye witness to
  taming of the American frontier.

Through paintbrush and camera lens, he 
captured the beauty and majesty of 
this fair land, along with the conflict and
rapid change brought, in the aftermath of
the Civil War, especially to many
 American Indian tribes, whom 
once roamed freely here. 
  

William Henry Jackson

1843-1942

Fold up the banners! Smelt the guns!

Love rules. Her gentler purpose runs.

A mighty mother turns in tears

The pages of her battle years,

Lamenting all her fallen sons.

"The High Tide At Gettysburg"

Will Henry Thompson

The pencil renderings of a young man in time of war...

Picket Duty

William Henry Jackson

Commissary 

William Henry Jackson

Block House at Catlett Station
William Henry Jackson



Voices on the wind...

Rise up and ride the wind, dear child
Soar high on eagles' wings
Though it blow fierce; though it be mild,
Rise above all that it brings. - See more at: http://www.christart.com/poetry/poem5266.htm#sthash.3w0BcK4X.dpuf

Shosone-Bannock Indian family in their tepee
William Henry Jackson
(1871)

"All we ask is to be allowed to live, and live in peace...

You may kill me here; but you cannot make me go back.

We will not go.  The only way to get us there is to come

in here with clubs and knock us on the head, and drag us out 

and take us down there dead."

-Dull Knife (Tahmelapashme)

Northern Cheyenne

Little Wolf and Dull Knife

Cheyenne Chiefs

William Henry Jackson
(1873)

The Mystery of the Ancient Ones...

Caves of the Anasazi Cliff Dwellers
William Henry Jackson





 Natural Wonders...


"Since 1873, I have been back four or five times.
 I have used the best cameras
 and the most sensitive emulsions on the market.
 I have snapped my shutter, morning, noon and afternoon.
 I have never come close to matching those first plates."
 -William Henry Jackson 
(On photographing The Mountain of the Holy Cross)

Mount of the Holy Cross
William Henry Jackson
(1873)

Marshall Pass West Side
Colorado
William Henry Jackson

Yosemite Valley
California
William Henry Jackson
(1898)

Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone National Park
William Henry Jackson
(1871)




Although much of Jackson's work behind the camera
 focused on the spectacular geographical beauty 
of the western United States,
 he photographed in many states, 
and in other places around the world,
 including, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba, 
not to mention India, China, Korea, and Siberia,
 where he visited a prison camp, and managed to
 photograph convicts working on
the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

Grand Canyon
William Henry Jackson
(1883)