ORThe Open Room
Digital gallery
Back to the NGA collection
The image shows a street scene from an elevated viewpoint, looking downhill towards a body of water and a distant landmass. The horizon divides the townscape below from the water and land further away. Sailing ships are seen anchored on the water, and elegant buildings line the street. A horse-drawn cart indicates activity in the area. The town extends towards the shore where the land meets the water. The color palette is sepia, creating a vintage atmosphere with warm tones highlighting architectural details and the calmness of the scene.
Read the visual description

The image shows a street scene from an elevated viewpoint, looking downhill towards a body of water and a distant landmass. The horizon divides the townscape below from the water and land further away. Sailing ships are seen anchored on the water, and elegant buildings line the street. A horse-drawn cart indicates activity in the area. The town extends towards the shore where the land meets the water. The color palette is sepia, creating a vintage atmosphere with warm tones highlighting architectural details and the calmness of the scene.

National Gallery of Art · Photograph

Alcatraz Island and San Francisco Bay, Looking North

Carleton E. Watkins

Date
1880s
Medium
albumen silver print
Dimensions
image: 9.3 x 16.2 cm (3 11/16 x 6 3/8 in.) mount: 10.7 x 16.5 cm (4 3/16 x 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Accession number
2006.133.134
Credit line
Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon and Patrons' Permanent Fund
Time span
1876 to 1900
Department
CPH
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • American
  • photograph
  • Landscape
  • United States
  • landscape
  • California
  • Cabinet Card
Provenance

Mary and Dan Solomon; purchase and gift to NGA, 2006.

Inscription

Printed on mount under image, lower right: Watkins' New Cabinet Series, / Yosemite and Pacific Coast, 427 Montgomery St., San Francisco.; on verso, in ink across center: Alcatraz Island and San / Francisco Bay - looking North.; by unknown hand in graphite, lower left: 3687

NGA object ID 136641. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.