William Henry Jackson

"William Henry Jackson (1843-1942) was born in Keesville, NY. He is one of 19th century America's best-known photographers.
Jackson learned photography as a boy from his father, an amateur daguerreotypist. Jackson served as a military staff artist during the Civil War. After the War he traveled west, establishing a photography business in Omaha, NE in 1868. He documented the building of the Union Pacific Railroad and created striking images of Native Americans. In 1870, Jackson became the official photographer of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. He remained with the Survey until 1878. Jackson's work was exhibited in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Jackson opened a photography studio in Denver in 1879. He continued to travel and photograph throughout the country. He photographed a trip around the world for Harper's Weekly in 1894-95. He joined the Detroit Publishing Company in 1898, bringing with him thousands of his own negatives. He continued to work for the firm for the next 26 years.
During the 1930s, Jackson executed murals for the Department of the Interior and served as an advisor to the film ""Gone With the Wind."" His autobiography ""Time Exposure"" was published in 1940. Jackson's work was included in ""Photographs of the Civil War and the American Frontier"" at the Museum of Modern Art in 1942. He died the same year at the age of 99. Jackson's work can be found in the permanent collections of several institutions including the Oakland Museum of California, the Denver Art Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Wyoming." [Source: Museum staff.]