Clatworthy Place
Larimer County
Located on the side of Prospect Mountain in Estes Park, the Clatworthy Place includes the home and studio of Fred Payne Clatworthy, a highly successful commercial photographer and promoter of American Western landscapes. Clatworthy was among the first photographers in Colorado to experiment with the Autochrome process. Invented in France, Autochrome was the first photographic process to successfully produce color images directly from nature without hand coloring.
Clatworthy Place
Clatworthy is best known for his collection of Autochrome glass plates, which he used to illustrate his lecture series on National Parks. Clatworthy was part of the National Geographic Society’s stable of American Autochrome photographers, and between 1929 and 1934, six issues of the society’s magazine featured his images in photo essays. His yearly lecture circuits to major American cities, his many images in railroad booklets, and the National Geographic articles introduced millions of potential tourists to the dramatic colors and grandeur of the West. The greatest significance of his work was its contribution to the promotion and early development of Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, and Front Range tourist attractions.