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Artists›William H. Bell

William H. Bell

Artist

WA-00026157

Printmaking

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

70%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

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Authority Records (1)

MoMA

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

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No image

Forgotten Photographers

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1951

No image

The Museum Collection of Photographs

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1945–1946

No image

Photographs of the Civil War and the American Frontier

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1942

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/446
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

William H. Bell was an American photographer active from 1860 to 1900, working in large-format albumen and gelatin dry plate processes to document western landscapes, geological formations, and industrial structures. His systematic surveys of terrain across the American West constitute a primary archival record of the period's expansion and development. Bell's methodical approach to landscape and architectural documentation established him as a key figure in nineteenth-century survey photography.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 1mo ago

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Medium

Printmaking

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago National Gallery of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (30)

Looking South into the Grand Cañon, Colorado River, Sheavwitz Crossing

1872 · albumen print

image: 27.4 x 20.4 cm (10 13/16 x 8 1/16 in.) mount: 50.7 x 40.5 x 0.1 cm (19 15/16 x 15 15/16 x 1/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Rain Sculpture, Salt Creek Canon, Utah

1872 · albumen print

image: 27.5 x 20.3 cm (10 13/16 x 8 in.) sheet: 35.5 x 28.1 cm (14 x 11 1/16 in.) mount: 50.8 x 40.5 cm (20 x 15 15/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Grand Cañon, Colorado River, Mouth of Kanab Wash, Looking West

1872 · albumen print from tannin dry plate negative

Image: 27.5 x 20.2 cm (10 13/16 x 7 15/16 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Looking South into the Grand Canyon, Colorado River, Sheavwitz

1872 · albumen print from wet collodion negative

Image: 27.5 x 20.3 cm (10 13/16 x 8 in.); Mounted: 50 x 39.4 cm (19 11/16 x 15 1/2 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Canon of Kanab Wash, Looking South, Colorado River

1872 · Albumen print from glass plate negative

Image: 35.5 x 27.8 cm (14 x 10 15/16 in.); Paper: 50.5 x 40.6 cm (19 7/8 x 16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cañon of Kanab Wash, Colorado River, Looking South

1872 · Albumen print

Image/paper: 27.4 × 20.4 cm (10 13/16 × 8 1/16 in.); Mount: 49.8 × 39.3 cm (19 5/8 × 15 1/2 in.)

William H. Bell

Cultural Positioning

Authority Records (1)

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

Source Registry (1)

Why this artist matters now

Taste overlap and adjacency

Museum Collections

Artworks (30)

Artwork sources (4)

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 3)

Images

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Representation & Collections

Exhibitions and timeline