Background
Ben Wittick (George Benjamin Wittick) was born on January 1, 1845, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States.
Ben Wittick (George Benjamin Wittick) was born on January 1, 1845, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States.
Ben Wittick served in the U.S. Army (1861-1863), then operated a studio in Moline before moving (about 1878-1879) to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he worked for the Atchison, Topeka &. Santa Fe Railroad.
Ben Wittick began a partnership with R. W. Russell in 1880 that lasted until 1884. Russell managed the studio's operation (in Albuquerque from 1881) while Ben Wittick traveled and photographed for the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad and participated in the Stevenson Expedition in Arizona territory (1882). He then operated a studio in Gallup, New Mexico, from 1884 to 1900, with a second studio in Ft. Wingate, where he established a permanent residence in 1900.
A rattlesnake he captured for a gift to the Hopi Indians caused his death.
Aside from his work for the railroads, Ben Wittick was an ardent recorder of Indian life and made images of the Hopi Snake Dances in Arizona through the 1880s and 1890s. During that time he made many trips to the Grand Canyon, Zuni Pueblo, and other parts of Arizona.