author
William Henry Jackson
1843–1942
Best known for striking photographs of the American West, this adventurous artist helped shape how generations of Americans pictured places like Yellowstone. His images did more than document the landscape—they helped persuade people that it was worth protecting.
1 Audiobook
Descriptive Catalogue of Photographs of North American Indians
by William Henry Jackson
About the author
Born in New York in 1843, he became one of the most important photographers of the nineteenth-century American West. After serving in the Civil War, he headed west and built a career recording landscapes, railroad expansion, and life on the frontier with a mix of patience, stamina, and artistic skill.
He is especially remembered for photographs made during western survey expeditions, including work in the Yellowstone region. Those pictures reached audiences far beyond the expedition camps and are widely associated with the growing movement to preserve remarkable natural places.
Jackson’s long career also included painting, publishing, and extensive travel, and he remained active well into later life. He died in 1942, leaving behind a visual record that still shapes popular ideas of the American West.