“These Images Reveal the Terrible Cost We Still Pay to Mine Natural Resources”

In a review of the National Gallery of Art exhibition “Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography,” The Washington Post examines how photographers have documented the environmental and social impacts of resource extraction across nearly two centuries. The article highlights David Maisel’s 2007 aerial photograph of a toxic waste pond in Nevada, noting how contemporary artists use striking visual imagery to address the lasting effects of mining on the landscape.

6 June 2026