Grand Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.
Date1942
Label TextSho-sho-ne-pah is the Indigenous name for the Snake River. La Maudite Riviere Enragee (The Accursed Mad River) was its name for French fur trappers, likely due to rapids and dangerous seasonal snow melts. One of Adams’s most iconic works, this image belies the river’s violent history born of volcanic activity and depths deeper than the Grand Canyon. With his signature sharp-focused style, the artist presents the silvery river snaking through the alpine plateau of the Grand Tetons, on its way to its final destination, the Columbia River. Adams, a dedicated environmentalist, wanted to make his images comprehensible to his audiences and to “talk” to the American people through these pictures.
Object number89.74
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, Mar. 18 - May 30, 2022.Credit LineGift of Chuck, Sarah and Sam Kuhn
Dimensions15 15/16 x 19 1/16 in. (40.5 x 48.4cm)
MediumGelatin silver print
1977
Object number: 82.15
ca. 1886-1900
Object number: 86.14