Cliff Segerblom (1915-1990) made a career out of capturing images of Nevada, both on film and in paintings. His work depicts some famous places as well as unknown nooks and crannies of the Silver State that might have otherwise faded into the past and been forgotten. Unlike many artists, Segerblom was successful in his lifetime and had photographs published in Time, Life, and National Geographic magazines. His pictures have been hung at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and are part of that institution's permanent collection.
Through August 3, 2011, you can see this talented photographer's work at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City. Nevada: The Photography of Cliff Segerblom is an exhibit of 25 large format black and white pictures taken from 1938 to 1980. Photos you may recognize are those of Hoover Dam, where Segerblom was chief photographer for the Bureau of Reclamation during construction. Others depict the vast Nevada landscape and places that are already returning to the desert.
The Nevada State Museum, at 600 N. Carson St. in Carson City, is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is $8 for adults, free for children 17 and under and museum members. For information, call (775) 687-4810.
My photography accompanying this article shows the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge over Black Canyon, just downstream from Hoover Dam. The bridge connects Nevada and Arizona. It is the second highest in the United States, after Royal Gorge Bridge. This is a scene Cliff Segerblom did not live long enough to see.
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