American Legacy: Our National Parks

In 1871, artist Thomas Moran ventured into a Wyoming landscape that tested his ability to capture its rich variations of color and light. His field studies of steaming geysers and paintings of towering falls were instrumental in the creation of Yellowstone, our nation’s first national park. Since then, artists have joined naturalists and preservationists in convincing American presidents and legislators to set aside more than 350 locations as part of our American Legacy.

In the traveling art exhibition, American Legacy: Our National Parks, 38 members and guests of the Plein-Air Painters of America set up their easels in national sites across the country. The artists are among the country’s most respected plein-air painters. The adjective plein-air refers to the philosophical belief that creating art on-location, challenging as it may be, is crucial to successfully documenting a visual and emotional point in time and place.

March 8 – August 26, 2012
Booth Western Art Museum
Cartersville, Georgia

September 23 – December 2, 2012

Washakie Museum and Cultural Center
Worland, Wyoming

The National Parks: Our American Landscape

Photographer Ian Shive has captured stunning images from National Parks over the course of his career and shares them in his recent collection, The National Parks: Our American Landscape, available for purchase from Earth Aware Editiofacebook.com/mandalaearthns.