Drawn to Yellowstone: Artists in America's First National Park [Paperback]

Peter H. Hassrick (Author), James H. Nottage (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

Old Faithful Geyser, Emerald Spring, the magnificent canyons and falls of the Yellowstone River: these and other sites, familiar to the millions of visitors who travel through Yellowstone National Park each year, have been an inspiration to generations of artists. Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and dozens of other artists have braved difficult conditions to capture the splendors of Yellowstone in many media, from delicate watercolors and pen-and-ink sketches to powerful oils and popular lithographs. They have portrayed the animals that lived there, the humans who passed through, and above all the remarkable natural features that have made Yellowstone a wonderland to so many artists and observers. The first national park in the world, from the moment of its inception in Yellowstone National Park has been perceived as a vast visual spectacle. By the 1890s it was known as "the Nation's Art Gallery." Peter Hassrick traces the artistic history of the park from its earliest explorers to the present day in Drawn to Yellowstone, a richly illustrated account of the artists who traveled to and were inspired by Yellowstone. Yellowstone was simultaneously an aesthetic experience and a potent force in America's search for national identity. Visitors made comparisons between the castles of Europe and the gleaming spires of Yellowstone, to prove that America, too, had its history and its grandeur. It was from Yellowstone that flowed, like the waters that pulse from its geysers, an artistic energy that at once captivated a nation and contributed to its philosophical and aesthetic history.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Landscapist Thomas Moran's 1872 majestic canvas of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River (used for this album's jacket cover), as much as the photographs of W. H. Jackson, made Yellowstone National Park a must-see destination, and a lure as well to the many artists who followed Moran. The accessibility of Yellowstone contributed to the attraction for painters, as did their recognition of the desire of visitors, and of the railroads promoting Yellowstone tourism, for souvenirs. These products furnish the backbone of this album's generous offering of images (72 in color), and within their commercial origination they yet reflect a satisfying variety of artistic sensibilities, from representational to impressionistic to quasi-cubist. Author Hassrick, an arts administrator, develops the finer technical points in his chronicle, and readably accents the stories behind the paintings, such as how Moran, not the already famous Albert Bierstadt, got the commission for the magnum opus of Yellowstone. The national affection for Yellowstone will only be deepened by this appealing album. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: University of Washington Press (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295982292
• ISBN-13: 978-0295982298
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,999,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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