8

Eadweard Muybridge

1830-1904

Cloud's Rest. Valley of the Yosemite (No. 40). 1872.

Mammoth albumen print
With Muybridge's printed credit, the publisher's credit, title, and number "40" on mount recto.
The image 15 x 21 5/8 in. (38.1 x 54.9 cm.), the mount 24 1/2 x 29 1/2 in. (62.2 x 74.9 cm.)

  • Notes:
    Muybridge first photographed in the Yosemite Valley in 1867, when he produced over 250 views in whole-plate and stereoscopic formats. Before embarking on a second expedition in the summer of 1872, he advertised for subscribers to contribute towards the cost of the new series. Subscribers, one of whom was the eminent landscape artist A. Bierstadt, could choose forty images from the series for 100 dollars. Muybridge produced over 500 negatives between June and November 1872 in various formats. The list, produced in April 1873 by his new publishers, Bradley & Rulofson, announced fifty views 17x21 inches from his mammoth 20x24 inch negatives. Their inventory number for this image was 40.

    These impressive views immediately attracted national and international acclaim and Muybridge was awarded the Vienna Medal in 1874. Despite this attention, it seems that far fewer prints survived than those of his competitor Carleton E. Watkins.
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