Viewing the Archive: Timothy O'Sullivan's Photographs for the Wheeler Survey, 1871–74

Abstract

Timothy H. O'Sullivan's survey photographs possess distilled graphic qualities that have captivated and puzzled viewers for several decades. Focusing on pictures from the Wheeler survey (1871–79), this essay argues that O'Sullivan fashioned his distinctive pictorial strategies from the graphic practices of other survey specialists. The historical evidence suggests that he was compensating for the shortcomings of photography as an instrument of geologic and geographic work and amplifying the political persuasiveness of his pictures. Certain of his images, however, betray indications of skepticism concerning the survey and the very graphic values that he took such pains to incorporate.