George Fiske
George Fiske (October 22, 1835 – October 21, 1918) was an American landscape photographer.
George Fiske
Arthur Clarence Pillsbury · ebay · Public domain
- Name
- George Fiske
- Born
- 22 October 1835
- Birthplace
- Amherst, New Hampshire, U.S.
- Died
- 21 October 1918
- Occupation
- landscape photographer
- Nationality
- United States
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George Fiske (October 22, 1835 – October 21, 1918) was an American landscape photographer.
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wikidata · Q472636 · wikipedia · George Fiske
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — George Fiske • Born — 22 October 1835 • Birthplace — Amherst, New Hampshire, U.S. • Died — 21 October 1918 • Resting Place — Yosemite Cemetery • Occupation — landscape photographer • Illustration — Fiske outside of his studio
Biography
Biography
Fiske was born on October 22, 1835, in Amherst, New Hampshire. He moved west with his brother to San Francisco. He apprenticed under Charles L. Weed and worked with Carleton E. Watkins, both early Yosemite National Park photographers. Fiske and his wife moved to Yosemite in 1879 and lived there until he committed suicide in 1918. Fiske was living alone when he shot himself, and he often told his neighbors he was "tired of living." Most of his negatives were destroyed when his house burned in 1904.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1835–1918
The full dated record · 3 entries
1835
George Fiske born.
1840
Agriculture in Pennsylvania: A study of trends, county and state, since 1840 / By George Fiske Johnson is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1918
George Fiske died in 1918 at Yosemite National Park.
Legacy
Years later, when photographer Ansel Adams was a boy, his Aunt Mary gave him a copy of James M. Hutchings, In the Heart of the Sierras (1888) when he was sick. The book piqued his interest enough to persuade his parents to vacation in Yosemite National Park in 1916. Most of the photographs in the book are by George Fiske. • Illustration — Galen Clark standing on Overhanging Rock, Glacier Point. Photograph by George Fiske After Fiske's death, his remaining negatives were acquired by the Yosemite Park Company and stored neglected in a sawmill attic, which burned in 1943. Ansel Adams suggested they be stored safely in the Yosemite Museum fireproof basement, but his suggestion was ignored. "If that hadn't happened", said Adams, "Fiske could have been revealed today, I firmly believe, as a top photographer, a top interpretive photographer. I really can’t get excited at [[Carleton Watkins|[Carleton] Watkins]] and [[Eadweard Muybridge|[Eadweard] Muybridge]]—I do get excited at Fiske. I think he had the better eye." (Hickman & Pitts, 1980).
George Fiske and Myra Fiske
George Fiske, 22 Oct 1835 - 21 Oct 1918
George Fiske (1847-1932) - Willy Lott's House, Flatford - R.1947-19 - Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service
George Fiske · Art UK
Literature
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reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q472636: George FiskeWikimedia Foundation
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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