Researching Thomas Ayres

In 1855, the publisher and promoter James Hutchings conceived the idea of publishing a magazine to popularize California, which he was to call Hutchings' Illustrated California Magazine. Hutchings' motivations were to attract immigrants, as well as to make money on his publications. He invited Ayres to accompany him into the Yosemite, and in June 1855 as the party followed the traditional Indian trail into the valley they stopped at what became known as Inspiration Point so that Ayres could sketch the view, the first such drawing of the valley to be published. For the next five days, Ayres sketched many of the now famous and iconic views of the valley, one per day. Hutchings report of the trip was published in Volume 1 Number 1, and Ayres himself wrote a separate account in the Daily Alta California. In addition to publishing in the magazine, Ayres converted his sketches into a popular panorama displayed at McNulty's Hall in Sacramento.

In 1856, Ayres returned to Yosemite Valley and recorded several more sketches. These he took back east himself and exhibited them at the American Art Union in New York. As a result, Harper & Brothers commissioned him to return to California to gather images for them to publish. In the winter of 1857-1858, after stopping over in San Francisco, Ayres traveled around southern California gathering material. On April 26, 1858, as he was headed back to San Francisco, the passenger ship he was in sunk in a storm off Point Dume. Everyone on the ship perished, and all of the sketches Ayres had brought with him were lost.

The quality of his work as art is not generally considered high, but since his work is historically important and the originals are rare, these works are considered to be very significant.