id: 162307 accession number: 2002.40 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2002.40 updated: 2022-01-07 22:55:04.768000 St. Anthony Falls from Across the River, c. 1853-54. America, 19th century. Daguerreotype, half-plate; image: 10.8 x 16.5 cm (4 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.); case: 12 x 15.3 cm (4 3/4 x 6 in.); matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 2002.40 title: St. Anthony Falls from Across the River title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1853-54 creation date earliest: 1848 creation date latest: 1859 current location: creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: America, 19th century technique: daguerreotype, half-plate department: Photography collection: PH - American 19th Century type: Photograph find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Image: 10.8 x 16.5 cm (4 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.); Case: 12 x 15.3 cm (4 3/4 x 6 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro Collection of American Photography opening date: 2003-04-26T00:00:00 Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro Collection of American Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 26-September 10, 2003). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE (Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc., New York, NY) date: footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: June 3, 2002 footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: In this image of St. Anthony Falls, the unidentified daguerreotypist made an "instantaneous view" of a remarkable natural wonder, rendering its specific geological formation with exacting clarity. Above a narrow channel where the Mississippi River runs between steep bluffs in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the falls churns away at the bedrock over which it descends. Named by Father Louis Hennepin during his travels in 1680, it is the only significant waterfall on the entire Mississippi River. The specific motivations of the photographer remain unknown. He or she may have wished the photograph to be scientific and documentary, a valuable visual aid for an artist, or just a reminder to a curious resident. No doubt, this daguerreotype was a rare image of the environment's unspoiled condition before the mid 1850s, when demand for an inexpensive energy source irreparably changed this area from a natural to industrial landscape. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.40/2002.40_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.40/2002.40_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.40/2002.40_full.tif