William Henry Jackson
Teocalli Peak, from the Aztec teocalli, or sacrificial mound, that were always built in a pyramidal form, and which this mountain closely resembles. Gunnison County, Colorado.
- U.S Geological Survey.
Photographic reproduction of original wet collodian process photograph.
Courtesy of USGS Library.
This image was the impetus for the History of Art in Crested Butte project and this exhibition. Taken in 1873 at the foot of Teocalli, this photograph was first used as reference by engraver, Henry Singlewood Bisbing to create an illustration included in the 1873 USGS survey, Embracing Colorado, as seen below. Later it would be referenced again by Thomas Moran for inclusion in Picturesque America. It is interesting to note the artistic differences between Jackson’s photograph and the two artists interpretations in the engravings. This is one of the first widely distributed images of Colorado.
