ONLINE EXHIBITION | Stephen H. Willard – Palm Springs Art Museum

STEPHEN H. WILLARD COLLECTION

From the Collection of Palm Springs Art Museum

Bill Anderson, Rock Hudson, c 1950s-1960s
Collection Palm Springs Art Museum, Gift of Dorothy Anderson, ©Palm Springs Art Museum

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Stephen Hallet Willard (1894-1966) was raised in Corona, California where his interest in landscape photography began at an early age. Southern California inspired him with a range of subjects, and after graduating from high school in 1912, he had gained the technical skills needed to pursue his career in photography.

Traveling an estimated 300,000 miles over the next fifty years, Willard produced thousands of photographs of the mountains and deserts of the West, establishing two photography studios—first in Palm Springs, and then in Mammoth Lakes.

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Stephen H. Willard with Pack Mule, Kings River Canyon, c. 1915, photograph from album page. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard IIR 144a. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Willard Sierra Forest Studio, Kings River Canyon and the High Sierra, Summer 1914, photograph from album page. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard II R82a. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Stephen H. Willard Changing Automobile Tire in the Desert Before the Demountable Rim Days, 1917, photograph from album page. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, II A17. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Stephen H. Willard’s C.P. Goerz 8 x 10 Format Bellow Camera, 1901-1925, wood, leather, plastic, metal. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, 54-1999.21. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Self Portrait in Palm Springs Studio, c. 1935, nitrate negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XB32. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Willard began his professional career in the High Sierra by exploring the elevated, rugged terrain on extended treks by horseback and on foot.

In 1924, he built a photography gallery in Mammoth Lakes, which he and his family operated during the summer months and where he developed an extensive portfolio of scenic mountain photographs of the region.

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Kings Canyon, 1916, gelatin silver glass negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard VIIIJ2. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Kings Canyon Kearsage, 1916, gelatin silver glass negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard VIIIE1. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Looking Down on Rainbow Falls, 1925, gelatin silver glass negative, Willard No. 521. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard VIIIP1. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Thousand Island, 1924, 8 x 10 glass negative, Willard No. 502. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, VIIIP5. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Mt. Whitney, n.d., film negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XA24. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Desert landscapes, however, would remain Willard’s primary passion. The Coachella Valley, along with the Mojave Desert and Death Valley, would become his favorite subjects.

Access to the beauty and charm of the desert, characterized as a land of extremes, required the endurance and determination of an artist and explorer, and what Willard described as an initiation into “the secrets of the sun.”

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), While Winds and Sands Are Resting, 1925, gelatin silver glass negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard VIIIL12. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Toward Pass from Old Road (San Gorgonio Pass), 1925, gelatin silver glass negative, Willard No. 1438. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard VIIIL6. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Telescope Peak from Furnace Creek Badlands from Zabriski Point (Death Valley), 1925, gelatin silver glass negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard VIIIO12. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Sand Dunes with Santa Rosa Mountains in Background, n.d., film negative, Willard No. 1206. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XB24. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Glory of Evening, 1946, 8 x 10 film negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XJ31. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Moonlight in Canyon, 1935, 8 x 10 film negative, Willard No.1096. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XL26. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Pageantry of the Sky (Thunder Storm over Amboy), 1931, 8 x 10 film negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XL28. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Harmony Borax (Death Valley), 1925, gelatin silver glass negative, Willard No. 1808. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard VIIIP9. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Superstition Mountains. c. 1921, gelatin silver glass negative, Willard No. 1640. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard VIIIL1. © Palm Springs Art Museum

While many considered the harsh and difficult conditions of arid desert lands as barren, Willard chose to capture the beauty of the unique and flourishing plant life.

His flower portrait of a desert lily highlights its delicate grace silhouetted against a black background; and in 1936, his photographs of Joshua trees helped convince President Franklin D. Roosevelt to establish the Joshua Tree National Monument, now a popular National Park.

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Joshua Tree Park, 1944, acetate negative, Willard No. 207. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XA31. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Joshua Tree Blossoms, 1941, acetate negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XA41. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Cactus in Flower (Hedge Hog Cactus), 1935, film negative, Willard No. 207. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XA37. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Desert Lily, n.d., acetate negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XA42. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Stephen H. Willard (American, 1894-1966), Spring Flowers with San Jacinto and San Gorgonio in Background, 1937, 8 x 10 film negative. Gift of Dr. Beatrice Willard, Willard XV9. © Palm Springs Art Museum

Willard considered himself an artist, yet he also needed to make a living. The photography gallery he established in downtown Palm Springs in 1921 sold his photographs, photo-paintings, and a series of postcards he developed to market to tourists.

Palm Springs became a popular winter playground in the early 20th century, and Willard’s postcards show the carefree lifestyle that attracted visitors from around the world.