Eye for History: The Paintings of William Henry Jackson, From the Collection at the Oregon Trail Museum

William Henry Jackson is best known as a pioneering photographer, who captured the first images of Yellowstone, The Tetons, and Mesa Verde. After a lifetime devoted to photography and approaching the age of 90, Jackson picked up a paintbrush and produced a series of paintings to illustrate books on the American West. These paintings are impressive enough for their attention to detail and the telltale photographer's eye for perspective and composition, but they are all the more remarkable since Jackson had no formal training as an artist.

This book was written with the dual purposes of showcasing what has become the centerpiece of the Scotts Bluff museum collection, while at the same time making more of the William Henry Jackson Collection available to the general public. In so doing, we are able to tell not only the story of Jackson's long and productive life, but also the history and development of the American West.

Cover

Foreword

Introduction

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Bibliography

Artists, photographers, historians, and anyone interested in the history of the American West would enjoy this publication.