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Timothy H. O'Sullivan (American, 1840-1882) shot this view of ancient ruins in the Canyon de Chelle. The albumen print is from the 'Geographical explorations and surveys west of the 100th meridian,' sponsored by the War Department, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, in the early 1870s. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Smithsonian displays Timothy O’Sullivan’s American photos

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf

Timothy H. O'Sullivan (American, 1840-1882) shot this view of ancient ruins in the Canyon de Chelle. The albumen print is from the 'Geographical explorations and surveys west of the 100th meridian,' sponsored by the War Department, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, in the early 1870s. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Timothy H. O’Sullivan (American, 1840-1882) shot this view of ancient ruins in the Canyon de Chelle. The albumen print is from the ‘Geographical explorations and surveys west of the 100th meridian,’ sponsored by the War Department, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, in the early 1870s. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
WASHINGTON (AP) – A photographer who documented the Civil War and American West in the 19th century is the subject of a new exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The exhibit is called Framing the West: The Survey Photographs of Timothy H. O’Sullivan, and it opened Friday. It’s the first major exhibit devoted to the photographer’s work in three decades and will be on view until May.

The museum collaborated with the Library of Congress on the exhibit. It features more than 120 photographs, some rarely seen on public display since 1876.

Born in New York City, O’Sullivan began his career as an apprentice to acclaimed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady. He later earned a position as photographer for the first governmental survey of the American West after the Civil War. He died in Staten Island of tuberculosis at age 42.

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