CARLETON WATKINS El Capitan Yosemite, Ca. 1865-66, Albumen print 20.5x15.7" ASG# CW/1956 Remounted to a rag board, this print was loose when it was found.

It is one of Watkins dramatic and sublime views of this Yosemite National Park, California landmark

Identified in Carleton Watkins the Complete Mammoth Plates, Naef and Hult-Lewis 2013 J. Paul Getty Museum as Pl. 135 page 66 CEW 677 with a date of 1878 indicating it is a new series print. However this particular print was found unmounted with the following information on the back rubber stamped:
JJ Cook, Succ'r
to C.E. Watkins
26 Montgomery St., SF
pencilEl Capitan 3300 ft Yosemite No 677

This indicates that Watkins likely made this in the 1865-66 period and that this was one of the prints that J. J. Cook received in the bankruptcy of 1875.

Carleton Watkins (1829-1916) created balanced, dramatic compositions of the American wilderness that mark him as the most artistic and influential19th century American landscape photographer. When he set out to photograph Yosemite in 1859, it was an unexplored wilderness that was only just beginning to attract a handful of artists and photographers willing to make the difficult journey. Watkins is best known for his mammoth plate views (approx. 16 x 21") of Yosemite, and the Columbia River area in Oregon. His diverse subject matter included mining operations, lumber mills, grand houses and estates.

Yosemite would continue to be a touchstone for Watkins over the next twenty years. He went back in 1865 and again in 1866 as part of the California State Geological Survey. He returned again in 1872, 1875, 1878, and from 1879 to 1881

In 1871 he moved his San Francisco studio called "Yosemite Art Gallery" to 22-26 Montgomery Street, a popular destination for tourists. During the financial crisis of 1875 he lost his studio and all his negatives to a swindler named J.J. Cook who took over Watkins's gallery along with photographer I.W. Taber.

Good. Remounted to rag board generally rich tones with yellowing on edges extending out 2" moderate wear