Hell's Half Acre, Prismatic Springs

About the Artwork

Frank Jay Haynes was a photographer of life in the American West and the early days of Yellowstone National Park. Arriving in Yellowstone in the 1880s, he accompanied expeditions into the park, serving as official photographer. From canyon bottoms to mountain peaks, Haynes took his cameras to locations where he could capture unique and artistic views. In this photograph, he documented the immense space of the landscape, made particularly apparent by the inclusion of a small figure standing on the cliff at the right.

Inscriptions

Written in negative: "No. 3110 HELL'S HALF ACRE, Prismatic Springs / F. J. HAYNES, FARGO, D.T."

Provenance

The family of the Artist

Exhibition history

Selected Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 9-April 11, 1993). Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997). Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007); Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA (October 3, 2009-January 3, 2010).

Quick Overview

Artist: Frank Jay Haynes (American, 1853–1921)
Date: c. late 1880s
Medium: albumen print from glass negative
Dimensions: Image: 44.7 x 54.5 cm (17 5/8 x 21 7/16 in.); Paper: 45 x 55.1 cm (17 11/16 x 21 11/16 in.); Matted: 61 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
Type: Photograph
Classification: Photograph
Department: Photography
Credit line: Edwin R. and Harriet Pelton Perkins Memorial Fund
Accession no.: 1992.242

More by Frank Jay Haynes in museum collections

Cinnabar Mountain, Devil Slide
Frank Jay Haynes
1880s · Photograph
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00012924

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.