O'Sullivan's Bold & Mysterious Photos of the American West

The King Survey of the Great Basin, from 1867 to 1872, was the model for other “great surveys” of the 19th-century American West. Rare and iconic works by Timothy H. O’Sullivan, King Survey’s official photographer, are featured in this exhibition. Keith F. Davis and Jane L. Aspinwall, respectively senior and assistant curators of photography at the Nelson-Atkins, organized Timothy O’Sullivan: The King Survey Photographs.

“There is good reason that O’Sullivan remains so influential after all these years,” said Davis. “Visually speaking, he was the world’s greatest poker player. He always kept his cards close to his vest. His images are at once boldly straightforward and deeply mysterious, a perfect combination of intuition and calculation. His genius lies, in part, in making such originality appear so effortless.”

There are 60 photographs in the exhibition. Nine were borrowed from the American Geographical Society in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and the remainder are from the holdings of the Nelson-Atkins. Accompanying the exhibition is a major book, co-authored by Davis and Aspinwall, with contributions by three esteemed scholars: John P. Herron, Francois Brunet, and Mark Klett.

“O’Sullivan continues to influence generations of photographers because of his purely individual melding of fact and point of view,” said Aspinwall. “He was a complicated character, a hearty adventurer, a photographic explorer and innovator, with a bit of the daredevil thrown in the mix.”

The book emphasizes the context of O’Sullivan’s photographs: his best known images in relation to the complete body of his survey work, the function of the photographs within the survey enterprise, and the scientific and cultural importance of the survey itself. In creating the book, Davis and Aspinwall became engaged in their own kind of “survey,” working from opposite ends of the subject back toward a common center.

“Jane focused on the evidence of the photographs themselves, tracking down every view and putting them into chronological order,” said Davis. “I began with an overview of the history of western exploration and then attempted to describe the King Survey and O'Sullivan's career in detail. The meeting point, the crux of the whole project, was O'Sullivan's remarkable photographs.”

Timothy O'Sullivan >>

Timothy O’Sullivan, American (1842-1882). Shaft of Savage Mine, Virginia City, Nevada (detail), 1868. Albumen print. Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2005.27.3262.

Shifting Shape
of Modern,
Decorative Art
and World Fairs

IInventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851-1939, a groundbreaking exhibition of extraordinary objects representing the pinnacle of science and artistic ingenuity, features many objects seen in the United States for the first time.

The exhibition was co-organized by Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City and Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh

Inventing the Modern World includes about 200 objects shown at every major and several minor world’s fairs from 1851 to 1939, carefully chosen through a generous research grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibition is co-curated by Catherine L. Futter, the Helen Jane and Hugh “Pat” Uhlmann Curator of Decorative Arts at the Nelson-Atkins, and Jason T. Busch, Curatorial Chair for Collections and the Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at Carnegie.

“We associate world’s fairs with fun, and also signature architecture like the Eiffel Tower and the Crystal Palace,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins. “But the importance of world’s fairs was reflected in the objects that continue to inspire elegance and creativity. Now, for the first time ever, those objects have been brought together for this major exhibition.”

World’s fairs were the most important vehicle for debuting technological and stylistic advancements on an international stage. They functioned as showcases and marketplaces for design on a global, national and individual level. Above all, they democratized design unlike any previous or concurrent forum.

Lynn Zelevansky, The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art said, “The historical context of Inventing the Modern World embodies a vision that will be inspirational for museum audiences across the country, and brings into play the capacity for inventive design in art, science and technology to improve the human condition and modern living.”

Due to the impermanence of the fairs, decorative arts from them are sometimes the only surviving elements. Decorative arts, particularly objects crafted in ceramic, metal, glass and wood, were the physical manifestation of the progressive ideals embodied in the fairs.

Inventing Modern Decorative Art >>

Otto Eckmann, designer, German, 1865-1902. Kunstwebschule Scherrebek, manufacturer, Germany, 1896-1905. Five Swans, 1897. Wool and cotton. 265 x 76.5 cm. Lent by The Wolfsonian, Florida International University.