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Image of Snow Arch in Tuckerman's Ravine

Franklin White , (May 17, 1813–Aug 29, 1874)

Snow Arch in Tuckerman's Ravine

1858
5 5/8 in. x 6 5/16 in. (14.29 cm x 16.03 cm)

Medium and Support: Salted paper print
Credit Line: museum purchase
Accession Number: 1988.9

Commentary

Photography’s arrival in the United States in 1839 swiftly led to the establishment of numerous photographic studios in the eastern half of the country. Practitioners of the new medium focused their cameras on scenic vistas of American wilderness that had thus far been portrayed only by painters. Combining pictorial conventions with a documentary accuracy unique to the camera, photographers recorded the untouched terrain of Niagara Falls, the Hudson River valley, the Adirondacks, and the White Mountains, playing an important role in both industrialization and shaping mythologies about the American wilderness.
Trained as a painter, Franklin White’s salted paper prints of solitary figures contemplating the flume at Franconia Notch and intrepid hikers atop a snowy Mount Washington highlight the wild topography. They also reflect the region’s growing popularity as a tourist destination, driven by the opening of the railroad in 1851 and the development of resort hotels.

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