Looking South into the Grand Cañon, Colorado River, Sheavwitz Crossing
1872 · albumen print
image: 27.4 x 20.4 cm (10 13/16 x 8 1/16 in.)
mount: 50.7 x 40.5 x 0.1 cm (19 15/16 x 15 15/16 x 1/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art
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William H. Bell
Artist
Printmaking
Representation
None documented
3
Institutional Exhibitions
30
Works in Collection
34
Assets Indexed
0
Authority-backed Facts
0
Publications Referenced
70%
Profile Completeness
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Movements
No movements recorded
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Selected Institutional Exhibitions
View all exhibitions →No image
Forgotten Photographers
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1951
No image
The Museum Collection of Photographs
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1945–1946
No image
Photographs of the Civil War and the American Frontier
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1942
About
Why this artist matters now
William H. Bell was an American photographer active from 1860 to 1900, working in large-format albumen and gelatin dry plate processes to document western landscapes, geological formations, and industrial structures. His systematic surveys of terrain across the American West constitute a primary archival record of the period's expansion and development. Bell's methodical approach to landscape and architectural documentation established him as a key figure in nineteenth-century survey photography.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago
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Artworks (30)
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Institutional
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In collection
Museum of Modern Art
New York, US
In collection
Art Institute of Chicago
In collection
National Gallery of Art
Record