id: 160775 accession number: 1999.106 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1999.106 updated: 2022-01-04 17:25:31.301000 The Grand Canyon, c. 1924. William E. Dassonville (American, 1879-1957). Gelatin silver print on Dassonville "Charcoal Black" paper; image: 20.3 x 25.6 cm (8 x 10 1/16 in.); paper: 25.4 x 32.1 cm (10 x 12 5/8 in.); matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1999.106 title: The Grand Canyon title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1924 creation date earliest: 1919 creation date latest: 1929 current location: creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: America, 20th century technique: gelatin silver print on Dassonville "Charcoal Black" paper department: Photography collection: PH - American 1900-1950 type: Photograph find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * William E. Dassonville (American, 1879-1957) - artist William E. Dassonville American, 1879-1957 William Dassonville (born in Sacramento) was a pictorial photographer active in San Francisco during the first two decades of the 20th century. In addition to the pictorial work he produced for exhibition, Dassonville operated a professional portrait studio. A member of the California Camera Club, he gave lectured on art photography and contributed articles to Camera Craft, a photographic journal affiliated with the club. He exhibited his work in the first three San Francisco Photographic Salons (1901-3), as well as in other salons in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. After losing all of his work in the 1906 earthquake, Dassonville left San Francisco for the Sierra Nevada. He later returned to the city, reestablishing his studio and exhibiting his photographs made in the mountains. In the early 1920s he began making photographic paper for his own use and in 1924 gave up his studio to concentrate on the manufacture of "Dassonville" paper. M.M. --- measurements: Image: 20.3 x 25.6 cm (8 x 10 1/16 in.); Paper: 25.4 x 32.1 cm (10 x 12 5/8 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: in pencil: "4081 /2" translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: American Space: Landscape Photography 1900-1950 opening date: 2001-01-06T00:00:00 American Space: Landscape Photography 1900-1950. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 6-May 23, 2001). title: Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2007-06-24T00:00:00 Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007). title: Shadows and Dreams: Pictorialist Photography in America opening date: 2015-09-05T00:00:00 Shadows and Dreams: Pictorialist Photography in America. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 5, 2015-January 17, 2016). title: Stories From Storage opening date: 2021-02-07T05:00:00 Stories From Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: At the start of the 20th century, the Grand Canyon was already a famous destination for tourists. digital description: wall description: “Thou vast, profound, primeval hiding-place / Of ancient secrets,” wrote Henry Van Dyke in 1913 in his poem The Grand Canyon. Made a decade later, William E. Dassonville’s photograph conveys a similar awe at this national landmark’s grandeur, mystery, and power. In a shrewd composition that masterfully takes advantage of natural light, Dassonville emphasized the depth and breadth of the canyon by setting a white outcropping in the foreground against a dark shadow that slices the rectangular image in half diagonally. To its right, a sunbathed vista of cliffs and valleys takes our eye into deep, deep space. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES