Untitled, from the series The Bitterroot River

Barbara Bosworth, Untitled, from the series The Bitterroot River, 1995-1997, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan, 2008.2.38, © 1995-1997, Barbara Bosworth
Barbara Bosworth, Untitled, from the series The Bitterroot River, 1995-1997, gelatin silver print, 7 589 58 in. (19.424.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan, 2008.2.38, © 1995-1997, Barbara Bosworth

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled, from the series The Bitterroot River
Date
1995-1997
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
7 589 58 in. (19.424.4 cm)
Copyright
© 1995-1997, Barbara Bosworth
Credit Line
Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — forest
Object Number
2008.2.38

Artwork Description

The photographs in this series reflect on the intense connection our memory can form between people and place. Drawn from more than one hundred images made along Montana's Bitterroot River in the years following the death of a loved one, Bosworth later assembled them to create this narrative sequence. The solemn tone of the images speaks of resignation and vulnerability as currents and eddies slip along the river surface from one frame to the next only to disappear. But there is also affirmation and hope to be found in these graceful gestures—the arc of a young tree reaching across the river or a fish offered in outstretched hands—and reassurance in the continually renewing surface of the river: "I wanted to hold on to all the life that remained around me, and by securing my world in a photograph I convinced myself it could not totally be taken away."

Earth and Sky: Photographs by Barbara Bosworth exhibition label

Works by this artist (22 items)

Arthur Wesley Dow, Brittany Farm, 1885, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James F. Dicke Family, 2014.11.3
Brittany Farm
Date1885
oil on canvas
On view
Arthur Wesley Dow, Cemetery at Ipswich, ca. 1895-1910, cyanotype, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Consolidated Natural Gas Company Foundation, 1997.73
Cemetery at Ipswich
Dateca. 1895-1910
cyanotype
Not on view
Arthur Wesley Dow, Ipswich Prints: Lily, 1901/published 1902, photo-mechanical relief reproduction on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. F. F. Reinert, 1976.96.2.5
Ipswich Prints: Lily
Date1901/published 1902
photo-mechanical relief reproduction on paper
Not on view
Arthur Wesley Dow, Ipswich Prints: Fragment of old brocade, Persian design, 1901/published 1902, photo-mechanical relief reproduction on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. F. F. Reinert, 1976.96.2.2
Ipswich Prints: Fragment of old brocade, Persian design
Date1901/published 1902
photo-mechanical relief reproduction on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

New York Cultural Center
Artist
Date1973
color lithograph
Not on view
(Exhibition Poster)
Date1967
offset lithograph
Not on view
Romaine Brooks, Untitled (Caught by the Collar), ca. 1930, photomechanical reproduction on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1968.90.14
Untitled (Caught by the Collar)
Dateca. 1930
photomechanical reproduction on paper
Not on view