An eye for history: The paintings of William Henry Jackson
Knudsen D and Albright M. An eye for history: The paintings of William Henry Jackson. National Park Service
This book was written not only to showcase the centerpiece of the Scotts Bluff museum collection, but also to make more of the William Henry Jackson Collection publically available. It also shows the history and development of the American West. William Henry Jackson was a man driven to record the world around him. He is best known as a pioneering photographer, who captured the first images of Yellowstone, The Tetons, and Mesa Verde. Jackson was an active professional photographer for almost 50 years, and in that time he amassed a huge body of work. However, his efforts to document important events in American history did not end with his camera. After a lifetime devoted to photography, Jackson picked up a paintbrush and produced a series of painting to illustrate books on the American West. 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 doing so, 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.