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Cinnabar Mountain, Devil Slide
About the Artwork
A gifted photographer, both aesthetically and technically, Haynes skillfully composed the various elements in this mammoth plate print depicting an expansive, arid landscape with the Cinnabar Mountains in the background. Railroad tracks diagonally cross the composition, providing visual vitality and narrative richness. The large glass negative and albumen printing process allowed Haynes to convey the panoramic view with clarity and fidelity, while responding to the scene’s stunning natural illumination. Beginning in the late 1870s, this Michigan-born artist spent most of his impressive career documenting the entire Northwest as the official photographer for the Northern Pacific Railroad until 1905.
Inscriptions
Written in negative: "No 3101 CINNABAR MOUNTAIN, DEVIL'S SLIDE / F. JAY HAYNES, FARGO, D.T."
Provenance
?–?: The family of the artist ?–1993: (Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc., New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH December 6, 1993–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Industry and Photography: Selections from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1997-March 1, 1998). In Praise of Nature: Ansel Adams and Photographers of the American West. Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH (organizer) (October 30, 1999-January 2, 2000); Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME (January 20-March 19, 2000). 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).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Frank Jay Haynes (American, 1853–1921)
- Date
- 1880s
- Medium
- albumen print from wet collodion negative
- Dimensions
- Image: 44.6 x 54.8 cm (17 9/16 x 21 9/16 in.); Paper: 45.4 x 55.6 cm (17 7/8 x 21 7/8 in.); Matted: 61 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
- Type
- Photograph
- Classification
- Photograph
- Department
- Photography
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1993.217
More by Frank Jay Haynes in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00012924
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