Window of Pluto's Cave, No. 30 from the series "Imperial Gems"
1875
The photographer's romantic title reflects 19th-century tendency to anthropomorphize natural formations, while the stereo format provides viewers with an immersive sense of the cave's mysterious interior.
- Medium
- Albumen print, stereo
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Spotted works by H. D. Udall
Artists in conversation
Carleton Watkins
American · b. 1829
Watkins produced large format albumen prints of dramatic American landscapes and geological formations in the same era, sharing Udall's documentary yet romantically inclined approach to capturing the sublime natural world.
Timothy O'Sullivan
American · b. 1840
O'Sullivan photographed geological surveys of the American West in the 1870s using albumen print techniques, creating sepia toned documentary images of caves and rock formations with a similarly mysterious and immersive atmosphere.
William Henry Jackson
American · b. 1843
Jackson created stereoview and albumen print landscapes of American geological wonders during the same period, employing the same romantic documentary sensibility to anthropomorphize and celebrate natural formations for 19th century audiences.
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