Crooked Pillar, near Sugar Bowl, No. 285 from the series "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River"

Art Historical Context

Henry Hamilton Bennett’s “Crooked Pillar, near Sugar Bowl” captures a striking rock formation in Wisconsin’s famed Dells, part of his extensive series “In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River.” Active from the 1860s onward, Bennett became one of the region’s most celebrated photographers, documenting its dramatic sandstone cliffs and waterways at a time when the area was emerging as a popular tourist destination. His images helped shape public perceptions of the American Midwest as a place of natural wonder. This albumen-print stereoview, produced between 1870 and 1908, consists of two nearly identical photographs mounted side by side on a card. When viewed through a stereoscope, the paired images create a vivid three-dimensional effect—an innovative technique that brought distant landscapes to life for armchair travelers. Bennett’s careful framing emphasizes the pillar’s twisted silhouette against the surrounding river scenery, highlighting both geological drama and photographic artistry. Today the work stands as an early example of how photography promoted tourism and scientific interest in American landscapes, preserving a moment when the Dells were still relatively wild and largely accessible only by boat.

About the Artist

Henry Hamilton Bennett · 1843–1908

Henry Hamilton Bennett (1843–1908) was a pioneering American photographer whose breathtaking images of the Wisconsin Dells transformed a rugged river gorge into one of the nation's premier tourist destinations. Born in Farnham, Quebec, Canada, on January 15, 1843, Bennett moved with his family to Brattleboro, Vermont, before settling in Kilbourn City (now Wisconsin Dells), Wisconsin, in 1857 at ag...