Photographer Timothy O'Sullivan remains the most admired, studied, and debated photographer who worked on the great western surveys of the 19th century. This book intends to enlarge our understanding of O'Sullivan's pivotal body of western photographs by emphasizing the idea of context.

"Published to accompany an exhibition of the same name at the Art Institute of Chicago, Oct. 22, 2011-Jan. 15, 2012 and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Apr. 12-Aug. 26, 2012"--T.p. verso.