Untitled, from the series The Bitterroot River

Barbara Bosworth, Untitled, from the series The Bitterroot River, 1995-1997, gelatin silver print, 7 ⁵⁄₈ x 9 ⁵⁄₈ in. (19.4 x 24.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan, 2008.2.37, © 1995-1997, Barbara Bosworth

Artwork Details

Title: Untitled, from the series The Bitterroot River
Artist: Barbara Bosworth
Date: 1995-1997
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 7 ⁵⁄₈ x 9 ⁵⁄₈ in. (19.4 x 24.4 cm)
Copyright: © 1995-1997, Barbara Bosworth
Credit Line: Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan
Mediums Description: gelatin silver print
Classifications: Photography
Photoprint
Subjects: Figure — fragment — arm
Object Number: 2008.2.37
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2008.2.37

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