Crossing the Frontier: Photographs of the Developing West, 1849 to the Present

by Sandra S. Phillips, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The tradition of landscape photography is explored in this volume, published in conjunction with a traveling exhibit conceived and organized by art historian Sandra Phillips. The rapid advance of industrialization is documented, along with the ever-increasing human encroachment on the environment. The photography of land use--as depicted by the work of largely obscure journeymen--is of more weight in this study than the better known tradition of artistic landscape photography represented by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. The most arresting images are those made by people who have been long forgotten, like George H. Johnson's daguerreotype of miners laboring on the American River near Sacramento, California.

Hardcover

First published November 1, 1996

Reviews

[Ivy]

The photographs in this are gorgeous and stunning. This is mainly a collection of photographs of the American west,from evidence of Manifest Destiny to Frederick Jackson Turner to modern era. I am only now going back and reading the frontpieces. The highlight of this book for me is a photograph of San Francisco circa 1868 taken from the base of Twin Peaks; it's somewhat rare to see photographs of the area that is now our loveable Castro-Mission. If you have any interest in the history of the West, you'll love this book.