On August 8, 2009, the Booth Western Art Museum opens two exhibitions celebrating the Grand Canyon – “Painting the Canyon: Selected Works from Grand Canyon Collections” and “Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography.” The exhibitions will be on display in the museum’s Special Exhibition Gallery through October 25.
“Painting the Canyon: Selected Works from Grand Canyon Collections,” an exhibition exclusive to the Booth Museum, features over 25 paintings from the collections of Grand Canyon National Park Museum and the Grand Canyon Association (GCA). Some of the paintings were completed prior to the Canyon’s designation as a National Park in 1913, and some of the paintings have never before been exhibited outside the Park. Highlights from the exhibition include works by Thomas Moran, who was instrumental in making the Canyon “grand,” and Curt Walters, one of today’s most important living Grand Canyon painters.
“Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography” is a creation of the Grand Canyon Association and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). This exhibition of 60 photographs taken during the century shows how this landscape is still often wild and unforgiving but compelling for both reverence and recreation. “Lasting Light” also chronicles photography and how it has promoted the Canyon as a popular destination for Americans and the world at large. Some images allow the viewer to marvel at this natural wonder without the camping equipment, rations, or repelling ropes that have often been required to capture the Canyon on film.
While deep in geological history, it is only within the last 150 years that the Grand Canyon was explored by adventurers and artists. Today, it stands as an icon of America and continues to inspire painters, photographers, and those who view their images.
For more information on “Painting the Canyon: Selected Works from Grand Canyon Collections” and “Lasting Light: 125 years of Grand Canyon Photography,” call 770-387-1300 or visit www.boothmuseum.org.
Booth Western Art Museum
The Booth Western Art Museum is an 80,000 square foot museum where guests are invited to explore the American West through contemporary Western artwork. The Museum also houses a Presidential Gallery, Civil War art gallery, and Sagebrush Ranch children’s gallery. To learn more, visit www.boothmuseum.org.
