River of No Return Collection

The River of No Return Collection consists of photographs created by Laura McPhee that document sites and persons in the Sawtooth Valley of Idaho, 2003-2008, related to her work as the initial Artist in Residence in the area underwritten by the Alturas Foundation, as well as project files, 2003-2014, which contain material related imagery and products from the project, including a solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2006, and her book, River of No Return (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2009). Photographic material in the collection consists of approximately 2000 items including color and black-and-white photographic prints, transparencies, and film negatives. Project files include research, correspondence, and print lists as well as the artist’s maquette for River of No Return and multiple dummies reflecting the design evolution of the book. The collection also includes preparatory and promotional material related to exhibitions of her images.

Exterior images document sites in the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area of the Sawtooth National Forest, which encompasses portions of Blaine County and Custer County in central Idaho as well as the communities of Custer and Stanley.

Landscape photographs include views of the White Cloud Peaks as well as bodies of water and their surrounding areas including Alturas Lake, Champion Creek, Fisher Creek, Fourth of July Creek, Little Redfish Lake, Lost Creek, Pettit Lake, Redfish Lake Creek, Salmon River (also known as the River of No Return), Stanley Lake, and Valley Creek.

Ranches represented in imagery include Fourth of July Creek Ranch, H-Hook Ranch, Laverty Ranch, and Morgan Williams Ranch.

Enterprises documented in photographs include the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery operated by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game near Stanley, the Grouse Creek Mine operated by the Hecla Mining Company in Custer, the Three Rivers Stone Quarry in Clayton, and deserted mines in Custer including the Bayhorse Lead-Silver Mine and the Clayton Silver Mine.

Discrete groups of images document forest fires in the region as well as fishing and hunting activities. The latter include the butchering of a harvested elk and examples of illegally harvested mammals, birds, and fish confiscated by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Individuals with formal and informal portraits in the collection include Mark Anderson, Isaac Babcock, Robert G. Griswold, Mattie Griswold, Judy Ann Hall-Griswold, Matt Humphreys, Isobel McPhee, Gamaniel Tacza, Tom Thurber, and Rob Trahant.