Drawn to Yellowstone: Artists in America's First National Park - Softcover

Hassrick, Peter H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 098964054X ISBN 13: 9780989640541

Publisher: Buffalo Bill Center of the West, 2016

Synopsis

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 features that have made Yellowstone a wonderland to so many artists and observers.
 
From the moment of its inception in 1872 as the first national park in the world, Yellowstone National Park has been perceived as a vast visual spectacle. By the 1890s it was known as “the Nation’s Art Gallery.” Peter H. Hassrick traces the artistic history of the park from its earliest explorers to the present day in this new edition of Drawn to Yellowstone, a richly illustrated account of the artists who traveled to and were inspired by Yellowstone.
 
Yellowstone is 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. Like the waters pulsing from its geysers, from Yellowstone flows an artistic energy that at once captivates a nation and contributes to its philosophical and aesthetic history.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter H. Hassrick is Director Emeritus and Senior Scholar at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of many publications, including Frederic Remington: A Catalogue Raisonné II, Painted Journeys: The Art of John Mix Stanley, and In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein.

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Buffalo Bill Center of the West
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 098964054X
• ISBN 13: 9780989640541
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 160