The George Eastman Museum in Rochester is one of many places where you can celebrate the 100th birthday of the National Park Service. In Photography and America’s National Parks, open through October 2, the museum explores the role of photography in the development of the parks and in shaping our perception and understanding of these landscapes.
“This exhibition illuminates the history of the most significant national parks through lush landscape photographs. From Yosemite being set aside as publicly held land in 1864 to Pinnacles National Park as the most recent addition in 2013, the lands that make up America’s national parks have been interpreted and enjoyed through photographs for more than 150 years.”
– Jamie M. Allen, exhibition curator
Photography and America’s National Parks includes more than 170 images from late nineteenth and early twentieth century photographers to contemporary artists. The museum explores how artists like Ansel Adams, William Henry Jackson and the Kolb brothers have shaped our expectations for how the parks are depicted and how their photographs were disseminated to the public through stereographs and postcards, but also showcases work from photographers such as Marion Belanger, David Benjamin Sherry and Byron Wolfe, whose work draws upon and subverts the history of images made within these natural landscapes.
“Visiting the exhibition and attending programs are a perfect way to celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service. The exhibition is divided into themes of exploration, tourism, land conservation, and art. It also includes murals of sweeping park views and comes with a family guide offering multiple avenues of interaction for visitors of all ages.”
To complement the exhibition, the museum also co-published a book with Aperture, titled Picturing America’s National Parks. Available now, the book features images related to the exhibition, an introductory essay by Jamie M. Allen discussing the relationship between the parks and photography, and a foreword by Bruce Barnes, the Ron and Donna Fielding Director of the George Eastman Museum.
Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984).
Noon clouds, Glacier Park, Montana, 1942. Gelatin silver print, printed 1950.
George Eastman Museum, gift of the photographer.
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
William H. Bell (American, b. England, 1830–1910).
Cañon of Kanab Wash, Looking South, 1872. From the series Colorado River Series. Albumen silver print. George Eastman Museum, purchase.
Alvin Langdon Coburn (British, b. United States, 1882–1966).
Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite, 1911. Gum bichromate over platinum print.
George Eastman Museum, bequest of the photographer.
Frank Jay Haynes (American, 1853–1921).
Sponge Geyser, ca. 1883. From the series Yellowstone Park Scenery. Albumen silver print.
George Eastman Museum, purchase.
John K. Hillers (American, 1843–1925).
Nan-Kun-To-Wip Valley, Arizona, 1872. Albumen silver print.
George Eastman Museum, gift of Harvard University.
William Henry Jackson (American, 1843-1942).
Hot Springs and the Castle Geyser. (Yellowstone National Park Collection.), 1872. From the series Rephotographic Survey Project. Gelatin silver print, printed 1980s.
Purchase with funds from the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and donors to the PhotoFinish 5K.
© Rephotographic Survey Project
Mark C. Klett (American, b. 1952) and Gordon Bushaw (American, b. 1947).
Crested Hot Springs and the Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 1978. From the series Rephotographic Survey Project. Gelatin silver print, printed 1980s.
Purchase with funds from the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and donors to the PhotoFinish 5K.
© Rephotographic Survey Project
Mark C. Klett (American, b. 1952) and Gordon Bushaw (American, b. 1947).
Crested Hot Springs and the Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 1978. From the series Rephotographic Survey Project. Gelatin silver print, printed 1980s.
Purchase with funds from the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and donors to the PhotoFinish 5K.
© Rephotographic Survey Project
Albert G. Lucier (American, 1877–1962).
Lake Shore Drive, Cody Road to Yellowstone, ca. 1940. Gelatin silver print.
George Eastman Museum, gift of Harold K. Borland.
Sean McFarland (American, b. 1976).
Three Falls, 2014. Diffusion transfer print.
Courtesy of the Artist and Casemore Kirkeby Gallery, San Francisco.
© Sean McFarland
Sean McFarland (American, b. 1976).
Three Falls (stand-in), 2014. Cyanotype.
Courtesy of the Artist and Casemore Kirkeby Gallery, San Francisco.
© Sean McFarland
Roger Minick (American, b. 1944).
Woman with Scarf at Inspiration Point, Yosemite National Park, 1980. From the series Sightseers. Chromogenic development print, printed 2001 under the supervision of the photographer.
George Eastman Museum, purchase with funds from the Charina Foundation.
© Roger Minick
Eadweard J. Muybridge (English, 1830-1904).
Mirror Lake and Reflections, ca. 1872. Albumen silver print.
George Eastman Museum, museum accession by exchange.
Unidentified maker.
Old Faithful geyser, Yellowstone National Park, August 1968. Chromogenic development print.
George Eastman Museum, gift of Peter J. Cohen.
Willie Osterman (American, b. 1955).
Tram at Tunnel View, 1990/91. From the series Yosemite Photographic Survey. Inkjet print.
Courtesy the photographer.
© Willie Osterman
John Pfahl (American, b. 1939).
North Rim Highway, Grand Canyon, Arizona, June 1980. From the series “Picture Windows”. Chromogenic development print, printed 1987.
George Eastman Museum, gift of the photographer.
© John Pfahl
Eliot Porter (American, 1901–1990).
Running water, Roaring Fork Road, Gt. Smoky Mts., October 10, 1967. Silver dye bleach print, printed ca. 1983 by david travis at elmi graphics, hollywood, ca.
George Eastman Museum, gift of Murray Beckerman and Abraham Altus.
© 1990 Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas
Marcia Resnick (American, b. 1950).
Untitled #10, 1974. Gelatin silver print.
George Eastman Museum, museum accession.
© Marcia Resnick.
Unidentified maker.
Sequoia National Forest, ca. 1915. Gelatin silver print.
George Eastman Museum, gift of Peter J. Cohen.
David Benjamin Sherry (American, b. 1981).
Sunrise on Mesquite Flat Dunes, Death Valley, California, 2013. Chromogenic development print.
Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York.
© David Benjamin Sherry
Audley D. Stewart (American, 1882–1972).
George Eastman and companions riding through Wawona Tree in Yosemite National Park, Pacific Coast Trip, 1930. gelatin silver print.
George Eastman Museum, gift of University of Rochester.
Audley D. Stewart (American, 1882–1972).
George Eastman at the Grand Canyon, July 12, 1930. Gelatin silver print.
George Eastman Museum, gift of University of Rochester.
Millee Tibbs (American, b. 1976).
Mountains + Valleys: Arches, Diptych, 2013. Inkjet print.
Courtesy the artist.
© Millee Tibbs
Carleton E. Watkins (American, 1829–1916).
Yo-wi-ye or Nevada Falls, 1861. Albumen silver print.
George Eastman Museum, gift of Alden Scott Boyer.
Edward Weston (American, 1886–1958).
Death Valley, 1947. Dye imbibition print, printed ca. 1981 by berkey k & l custom services, new york.
George Eastman Museum, gift of Cole Weston.
© 2016 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Minor White (American, 1908–1976).
Zion National Park, Utah, 1960. Gelatin silver print.
George Eastman Museum, gift of an anonymous donor. Reproduced with permission of the Minor White Archive, Princeton University Art Museum.
© Trustees of Princeton University
Michael Matthew Woodlee (American, b. 1984).
Chris, Campground Ranger, Tuolumne Meadows Campground, 2014. From the series Yos-E-Mite. Inkjet print.
Courtesy the artist.
© Michael Matthew Woodlee
Western Publishing & Novelty Company (American, 1932–1970s).
Yosemite National Park. El Capitan. Yosemite Valley, ca. 1940. Offset lithograph.
George Eastman Museum, gift of the 3M Foundation, ex-collection Louis Walton Sipley.
Unidentified maker.Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View, ca. 1930. Gelatin silver print with applied color.
George Eastman Museum, gift of Peter J. Cohen.