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Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District
The three leading geologists of the period, 1860-1890, were G. K. Gilbert, John Wesley Powell and Clarence E. Dutton. Gilbert wrote solely for scientific publications. Powell wrote scientific reports and books for the general public. The latter are dramatic and the reader may find it difficult to lay a book aside. It is quite easy to become completely captivated by his accounts of the "Exploration of the Colorado River." Dutton's work, especially "The Tertiary History," is a particularly lucid account of the geology of the region. The "Tertiary History" is highly regarded for its scientific information, its great historical importance, the work of the associates: Jack Hillers, William Henry Holmes and Thomas Moran, and for the quality of the writing. The "Tertiary History" has long been regarded as a rare work of art.
The "Tertiary History" was the first U. S. Geological Survey monographs to be published. The work made extensive use of maps, geological sections, woodcuts, photographs, line drawings and watercolors. Clarence King, the fist director of the U.S. Geological Survey, F. V. Hayden and Powell understood the importance of illustrations in their work. It has been said that a book of watercolors by Thomas Moran of the Yellowstone country and which resulted from the Hayden Survey, was as important as any other single factor in establishing Yellowstone as our first national park.
There were there artists associated with the "Tertiary History"--Hillers, Holmes and Moran. The first photographer, E. O. Beaman left the party in order to photograph the Hopi towns. Hillers became the photographer and within a few years, became one of the great photographers of the West. He, like Edward S. Curtis, became widely respected as a photographer of the American Indian.
The second of the trio of artists, and probably the greatest, was William Henry Holmes. Holmes began his career with the Hayden Survey; he became a field geologist and then served the U. S. Geological Survey as a geologist and artist. Holmes used the photographs of Hillers together with considerable work in the field. Holmes is known fore the extraordinary fidelity to the subject material as well as the great beauty of his work. The drawings, by Holmes, of the Grand Canyon, have never been excelled. Nearly all of the large photographs of drawings (2'x3') have been taken from his work. Holmes became director of the Field Museum, then director of the National Gallery.
The third of the trio of artists was Thomas Moran. Hillers, Holmes and Moran have long been regarded as three of the great artists who worked in Western America.