Andrew J. Russell

Andrew Joseph Russell (1830 – 1902)

One of a handful of landscape photographers who shaped our perception of the American West in the 19th century, A. J. Russell’s work stands alongside of Carleton Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge and Timothy O’Sullivan in its aesthetic power and technical virtuosity. A large group of Russell’s original glass-plate negatives are preserved in the Collection of the Oakland Museum of California.

A painter as well as photographer, Russell worked for Matthew Brady before documenting the U.S. Military Railroad as a captain during the Civil War. After the war, he secured a position as official photographer for the Union Pacific Railroad in its massive endeavor to construct a transcontinental railroad. His photographs, culminating in the iconic “Joining of the Rails” at Promontory, Utah, capture the majestic scale of western lands, the gritty enterprise of railroad building, frontier boom towns, and the effect of railroads on Native Americans.

Russell’s photographs brought the railroad, and the American West, to a mass audience. Disseminated internationally as stereo views and engravings in newspapers, and filtered through Hollywood films and even advertising, Russell’s visual style continues to influence our image of western history and mythology.

In 1969 the Oakland Museum acquired nearly 650 collodion “wet plate” negatives in both stereo and “imperial” (10 X 13 inch) formats. The original glass camera negatives were made in the field by Russell himself, making the collection unique, among major 19th century landscape photographers. The Museum also holds one of the few surviving copies of The Great West Illustrated, an album of vintage albumen prints by Russell, as well as mounted stereo views and more than 100 glass lantern slides.

Russell’s photographs illuminate powerful themes in American history: westward expansion and Manifest Destiny, the displacement of native peoples, attitudes toward landscape and the natural environment, technological history (both engineering and photographic), and the important role of art and photography in shaping and expressing cultural concerns.

For the first time, high-resolution digital scans of the original glass-plate negatives are now available for online viewing. These scans are highly detailed and rich in searchable content.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. National Endowment for the Arts

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Scene in Echo Canyon, Looking up the Bluffs
1868

Photograph. Title: Scene in Echo Cannon, looking up the Bluffs. Image Description: (s297) see Title. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.:...

Hanging Rock, Echo Canyon
1868

Photograph. Title: Hanging Rock Echo Cannon Image Description: (s294) Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.: Transportation -- Railroads. Remarks:...

Granite Canyon, Embankment in Foreground
1868

"This photograph appears to be the same location as the previous negative (no. 9) but from the opposite direction (looking West) and with the camera on the water tank seen in negative no. 9."...

Construction Train End of Track near Bear River, General Casement's Outfit
1868

Photograph. Title: 86 No Construction Train End of Track Near Bear River Gen Casement's Outfit (Scratched on negative) Image Description: See title. Engine No 66 is shown. Physical...

The Hermit's Grotto, Bitter Creek Valley, near Point of Rocks
1868

Photograph. Title: 154 (scratched on negative) Image Description: (s154) The Hermit's Grotto Bitter Creek Valley near Point of Rocks? Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate...

[Castle on Mountains]
1868

Photograph. Title: the Castle on the Mountains near head of Echo. Image Description: (s281) see Title. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.:...

Side Cut, Green River, Carmichael's Work
1868

80 No Side Cut Green River Carmichael's Work (Scratched on negative). Cut, river and camp seen from above."Contemporaries wrote about the large number of fossils that were found while digging...

Road Bridge at Mouth of Weber Canyon, Duplicate
1868

Photograph. Title: Road bridge at mouth of Weber Cannon, RR duplicate. Image Description: (s435b) see Title Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.:...

Carmichael's Camp, Bitter Creek Valley
1868

No 73 Carmichael's Camp Bitter Creek Valley (Scratched on negative). No. 73 & 75 are Panoramic (Scratched on negative). See 69.459.1912 to complete panorama. see also 66.

Dale Creek Bridge, Perspective View
1868

19 No Dale Creek Bridge Perspective View. Bridge over deep gulch."Perspective View of Dale Creek Bridge" title per Glenn Willumson. "Dale Creek Bridge was completed in 1868. It was approximately...

Warner and Whitman, Camp Weber
1868

Photograph. Title: Warner & Whitmen (sic) Camp Weber Image Description: (s584) see Title Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.: Transportation...

Malloy's Cut near Sherman Station
1868

Mallory's Cut near Sherman Station."Malloy was the contractor for this portion of the railroad construction. Malloy's Cut and Sherman Station were located in Wyoming." Remarks per Glenn Willumson...

[Burning Rock, Carmichael's Cut, Bitter Creek]
1868

Photograph. Title: Image Description: (s163) Burning Rock, Carmichael's Cut, Bitter Creek. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative, 5"X8". Sub. Cat.:...

Bitter Creek Valley, No. 3 Panorama
1868

No 70 Bitter Creek Valley No 3 Panoramic (Scratched on negative). See 69.459.1901 and 69.459.1905 to complete Panorama. Russel note scratched on negative No 1 62 No2 65 No 3 70."Russell's...

Mr. Clayton on Horseback
1868

Photograph. Title: Mr. Clayton on horseback. Image Description: (s301) see Title. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.: Transportation -- Railroads....

Dale Creek from Above, No. 2
1868

Dale Creek from above, No 2. Bridge with men, buildings, and equipment in gulch below. See 69.459.1857.

Chesebro and Magees Works, Green River
1868

Photograph. Title: Cheselino and Magees Works Green River (scratched on negative) Image Description: (s190) See title. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative, 5"...

[Mormon Camp, Echo Canyon]
1868

Photograph. Title: Image Description: shows Mormon Village in Echo Canyon (s286b) Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.: Transportation -- Railroads....

At Work on the Rock Cut, Green River
1868

Photograph. Title: Image Description: (s191a) At Work on the Rock Cut. See also 69.459.2171. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative, 5"X8". Sub. Cat.:...

Headquarters, Laramie
1868

Photograph. Title: 129 Head Qts Lara(mie) (scratched on negative) Image Description: (s129) See title. Men sitting around tents and wooden buildings. Physical Description: Stereographic...

Dale Creek Bridge [Perspective View]
1868

Photograph. Title: Image Description: (s111) See title. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative, 5"X8". Sub. Cat.: Transportation -- Railroads. Remarks:...

Stage Station, Hanging Rock, Echo Canyon
1868

Photograph. Title: Stage Station, Hanging Rock Echo Canyon. Image Description: (s279) see Title. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.: Transportation...

[Warm Springs Bathhouse, Salt Lake City, Utah]
1868

Photograph. Title: Image Description: (s205) Warm Springs Bathhouse, Salt Lake City, Utah. See also 69.459.1969. Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat...

Monument Rock near Mouth of Echo Canyon
1868

Photograph. Title: 115 Monument Rock near Mouth of Echo Cannon (Scratched on negative) Image Description: See title. See also 69.459.1942. Physical Description: "Imperial Plate" collodion...

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