Julius T. Boysen

This large-scale photograph, attributed to Julius T. Boysen, captures the experience of standing in the middle of Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove. The warm brown tone of the print not only mirrors the color of the sequoias, but also emphasizes both the raking light shining through the trees and the deep shadows of the forest floor. The photograph’s oversize format-a rarity at the time-dramatizes the sheer dimension and verticality of the trees.

Boysen was one of many photographers who opened studios in Yosemite after it was preserved as a national park in 1890. It quickly became one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, and Boysen and others made a living by taking portraits and selling photographs of famous sites within the park, such as the giant sequoias pictured here. This photograph was reportedly displayed on the walls of the Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Company factory in Woonsocket for many years until it was given to RISD in 1982.