ticketsMember | Make a donation

View from the Sentinel Dome, Yosemite

1865–66
Not on view
Carleton Watkins made his name with views of Yosemite Valley, which he photographed repeatedly over a twenty-year period, beginning in 1861. By that time, he was a virtuoso practitioner of the difficult wet-collodion process using "mammoth" glass plates, which rendered the vastness of the landscape and its infinite details with unsurpassed scope and clarity. During a visit to Yosemite in 1865-66, Watkins ascended the Sentinel Dome. He made a series of three photographs of this unparalleled view, each an integral, self-sufficient picture. When seen together, they form a broad and encompassing embrace of the valley.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: View from the Sentinel Dome, Yosemite
  • Artist: Carleton E. Watkins (American, 1829–1916)
  • Date: 1865–66
  • Medium: Albumen silver prints from glass negatives
  • Dimensions: Image 1: 40.3 × 52.1 cm (15 7/8 × 20 1/2 in.)
    Mount 1: 53.4 x 68.7cm (21 x 27 1/16in.)
    Image 2: 40.0 x 52.5 cm (15 3/4 x 20 11/16 in.)
    Mount 2: 53.3 x 68.8cm (21 x 27 1/16in.)
    Image 3: 40.8 x 52.5cm (16 1/16 x 20 11/16in.)
    Mount 3: 53.2 x 68.7cm (20 15/16 x 27 1/16in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1989
  • Object Number: 1989.1084.1–.3
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Nevada Fall, Yosemite
Carleton E. Watkins
1865–66, printed ca. 1875
The Golden Gate, Carleton E. Watkins American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
The Golden Gate
Carleton E. Watkins
1868–69, printed ca. 1876
Islands in the Upper Cascades, Oregon, Carleton E. Watkins American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Islands in the Upper Cascades, Oregon
Carleton E. Watkins
1867, printed ca. 1876
Sutro Tunnel Shaft No. 3, Carleton E. Watkins American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Sutro Tunnel Shaft No. 3
Carleton E. Watkins
1875, printed ca. 1876
Sutro Tunnel's Road to Virginia City, Carleton E. Watkins American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Sutro Tunnel's Road to Virginia City
Carleton E. Watkins
1875, printed ca. 1876

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.