National Champion Saguaro, Arizona, 2001

Barbara Bosworth, National Champion Saguaro, Arizona, 2001, 2001, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan, 2008.2.4, © 2001, Barbara Bosworth
Barbara Bosworth, National Champion Saguaro, Arizona, 2001, 2001, gelatin silver print, 9 5823 18 in. (24.458.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan, 2008.2.4, © 2001, Barbara Bosworth

Artwork Details

Title
National Champion Saguaro, Arizona, 2001
Date
2001
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
9 5823 18 in. (24.458.7 cm)
Copyright
© 2001, Barbara Bosworth
Credit Line
Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — plant — cactus
  • Landscape — Arizona
Object Number
2008.2.4

Artwork Description

The National Register of Big Trees records the size and location of the largest individuals of over seven hundred species found in the United States. Although Bosworth has tracked more than one hundred of these trees across the continent, she is as concerned with capturing the feeling of the surrounding landscape as describing the particular details of each tree. We are shown only the base of the coast redwood's trunk; a figure nearly hidden in the undergrowth offers the only indication of its height, which reaches over three hundred feet above the forest floor. Redwoods and giant sequoias have long been highlights for summer tourists, but the champion western redcedar is perhaps a more telling example of the fate of many of these natural landmarks. It was discovered within a stand of old-growth forest that was being clear-cut, and now remains as a lone sentinel guarding a deserted landscape. While some of these champions are protected within national or state parks and forests, Bosworth has been more frequently drawn to the commonplace locations where the majority are found: backyards, rural crossroads, parking lots, and housing developments.

Earth and Sky: Photographs by Barbara Bosworth exhibition label

Works by this artist (10 items)

Carrie Mae Weems, Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me - A Story in 5 Parts, 2012, video installation and mixed media, color, sound; 18:29 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, 2023.9A-G, © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me — A Story in 5 Parts
Date2012
video installation and mixed media, color, sound; 18:29 minutes
Not on view
Carrie Mae Weems, Suspended Belief, from the series Constructing History, 2008, archival pigment print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2022.48.5, © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Suspended Belief, from the series Constructing History
Date2008
archival pigment print
Not on view
Carrie Mae Weems, A Woman Observes, from the series Constructing History, 2008, archival pigment print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2022.48.1, © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
A Woman Observes, from the series Constructing History
Date2008
archival pigment print
Not on view

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Date2000
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Salvatore Mancini, Remains of Lock, Millville, 2000, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Joseph A. Chazan, M.D., 2002.80.6
Remains of Lock, Millville
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Keisha Scarville, Chair, 2001, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Perkins Center for the Arts, 2002.17, © 2001, Keisha Scarville
Chair
Date2001
gelatin silver print
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Salvatore Mancini, Eel Fisherman, 2000, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Joseph A. Chazan, M.D., 2002.80.2
Eel Fisherman
Date2000
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