The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

Natural Drainages Outlined by Cultivation, Dry Land Wheat Farming, near Hermiston, Oregon

1991

Emmet Gowin

(American, 1941-)
America
gelatin silver print, toned
Image: 24.5 x 24.3 cm (9 5/8 x 9 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 x 27.7 cm (13 15/16 x 10 7/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
Gift of Friends of Photography 1998.181
Location: Not on view

Description

Since the 1980s, Gowin has explored the landscape and aerial photography, creating images of military test sites, farmland, battlefields, mining areas, and missile silos in far-flung locations around the world. This striking image presents the interrelationships of form and structure not easily understood from the ground. The broad fields of light and dark, subtly modeled and embellished with meandering lines, have the schematic quality of an ancient cave painting. The sense of elevation and contour of the terrain is enhanced by the remarkable multiple toning done by Gowin during the printing process.
  • Contemporary Landscape Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-August 14, 2011).
    Human Intervention: Contemporary Landscape Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 26-October 10, 2001).
    Emmet Gowin: Aerial Photographs. Princeton University Art Museum (February 3-March 22, 1998).
  • {{cite web|title=Natural Drainages Outlined by Cultivation, Dry Land Wheat Farming, near Hermiston, Oregon|url=false|author=Emmet Gowin|year=1991|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1998.181