Work by Artist Thomas Almond Ayres Introduced Yosemite to Americans and Expands Library’s Representation of Iconic Landscape
March 9, 2026 - The Library of Congress has acquired one of the earliest known drawings of Yosemite Valley and a rare companion lithograph, both created in 1855 by artist Thomas Almond Ayres, significantly expanding the Library’s representation of one of America’s most iconic landscapes. These foundational images will be made widely available online, for researchers and the public worldwide.
The drawing, titled “The High Falls, Valley of the Yo Semity, California,” was created in graphite, ink, chalk and charcoal on paper, and it depicts what is now known as Yosemite Falls, one of America’s natural landscape treasures. Ayres is credited with the visual introduction of Yosemite to Americans who had never seen or imagined such an awe-inspiring site.
Measuring 20 x 14 inches, the drawing captures the scale and grandeur of the waterfall and surrounding cliffs, a striking scene in the wilderness valley that Ayres (1816-1858) sketched for several days in June of 1855. Scratched into the surface are the words “Thos. A. Ayres, del.,” underscoring and documenting his role as an eyewitness to the landscape.
Ayres’ sketches of the High Falls became the source for the first published image of Yosemite, at a time when drawings, not photos, shaped how people saw the American West. By rendering the scene several times, he was able to have multiple copies for display and sale.
The companion lithograph, titled “The Yo-Hamite Falls” and measuring 23 by 15 inches, was issued very quickly by publisher James Mason Hutchings in October 1855. Hutchings (1820-1902) learned of the valley from a newspaper account of the 1851 Mariposa Battalion expedition into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Determined to promote California’s natural wonders, the English entrepreneur hired Ayres and two Miwok guides to accompany him on his first trip to Yosemite.
“Thomas Ayres and James Hutchings followed their Miwok guides along a trail used to reach an Indigenous summer hunting and gathering ground, having heard rumors of a sublime landscape. Ayres’ drawing is amazing for conveying the serenity and majesty of Yosemite,” said Curator of Popular & Applied Graphic Art Sara W. Duke. “These men felt the importance of preserving this pristine place in a state where gold mining had changed so much land.”
Together, the drawing and lithograph are among the earliest widely circulated visual representations of Yosemite, predating the famous photographs by Carleton Watkins, which are also held by the Library of Congress, and the monumental paintings by Albert Bierstadt in the 1860s that cemented the valley’s national reputation.
Known for its towering granite cliffs, waterfalls, extensive trails and giant sequoias, Yosemite National Park – sacred ancestral summer land of Indigenous tribes – now draws more than 4 million visitors annually, according to National Park Service data. Long before the era of mass tourism, artists like Ayres and entrepreneurs like Hutchings introduced this landscape to audiences far beyond California.
The Library's philanthropic support group, the James Madison Council, provided the funds for the Library to acquire the drawing and the lithograph, adding these treasures to the national collection as part of the Library’s celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial, “America 250: It’s Your Story.”
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, providing access to the creative record of the United States and extensive materials from around the world, both onsite and online. It serves as the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and is home to the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, services, and visit information at loc.gov; legislative resources at congress.gov; and copyright registration at copyright.gov.
Source: Library of Congress
