Label TextLargely self-taught as a darkroom photographer, William Clift has lived in Santa
Fe, New Mexico for over fifty years and is best known for capturing the
monumental landscapes of the American West. Working in the century-long
tradition of black and white American landscape photography, Clift depicts a
triangular desert outcropping under a dark and brooding sky that is a mirror
inversion of the world below. Clift’s image is highly symmetrical in spite of its
rendering of nature’s chaos.
Published ReferencesWatkins, T. H., and Joan Watkins. The West: A Treasury of Art and Literature. Hugh Lauter Levine Associates, 1994, 61.
From Any Angle: Photographs from the Collection of Doris Bry. Yale University Art Gallery, 2008, 52.
Western Spaces. Aperture, 1985, 24-25.
In Celebration of Light: Photographs from the Collection of Cherye R. And James F. Pierce. Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2003, 113.
Hume, Sandy, et al. The Great West : Real/Ideal. Dept. of Fine Arts, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1977, 122
Jones, Peter C. The Changing Face of America. 1st ed, Prentice Hall Press, 1991, 54.
Afterimage, Volume 5, 1977, 18, 22-23.
Sheldon, James L., and DeCordova and Dana Museum and Park. Aspects of the 70’s : Photography--Recent Directions : [Exhibition] : June 1-August 31, 1980, DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts. DeCordova Museum, 1980, 9.
Published ReferencesWatkins, T. H., and Joan Watkins. The West: A Treasury of Art and Literature. Hugh Lauter Levine Associates, 1994, 61.
From Any Angle: Photographs from the Collection of Doris Bry. Yale University Art Gallery, 2008, 52.
Western Spaces. Aperture, 1985, 24-25.
In Celebration of Light: Photographs from the Collection of Cherye R. And James F. Pierce. Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2003, 113.
Hume, Sandy, et al. The Great West : Real/Ideal. Dept. of Fine Arts, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1977, 122
Jones, Peter C. The Changing Face of America. 1st ed, Prentice Hall Press, 1991, 54.
Afterimage, Volume 5, 1977, 18, 22-23.
Sheldon, James L., and DeCordova and Dana Museum and Park. Aspects of the 70’s : Photography--Recent Directions : [Exhibition] : June 1-August 31, 1980, DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts. DeCordova Museum, 1980, 9.
DimensionsBoard: 14 x 17 in. (35.6 x 43.2 cm)
Sheet: 7 1/8 x 9 7/8 in. (18.1 x 25.1 cm)
Image: 6 3/4 x 9 1/2 in. (17.1 x 24.1 cm)
Sheet: 7 1/8 x 9 7/8 in. (18.1 x 25.1 cm)
Image: 6 3/4 x 9 1/2 in. (17.1 x 24.1 cm)
Accession Number 2025.35
Classificationsphotograph
SignedWilliam Clift (in board l,r, graphite)
Willam Clift (on mat l,r graphite)
InscriptionsFactory Butte, Utah 1975 (in board l,l, graphite)
ProvenanceJack and Diane Robertson; Des Moines Art Center [gift from the previous, 2025]
