Yosemite: Art of an Icon (Paperback)

This lavishly illustrated volume offers a stunning new view of Yosemite's visual history by presenting two hundred works of art together with provocative essays that explore the rich intersections between art and nature in this incomparable Sierra Nevada wilderness. Integrating the work of Native peoples, it provides the first inclusive view of the artists who helped create an icon of the American wilderness by featuring painting, photography, basketry, and other artworks from the nineteenth century to the present. Yosemite: Art of an American Icon pursues several evocative themes, including the relationship between the environment and aesthetics in Yosemite; the various ways in which artists have shaped how we see and use the park; and the dynamic intersections among art, nature, and commerce that have played out during its history. In addition to offering an updated and comprehensive view of Yosemite's art over the past two centuries, the volume provides a rich and nuanced picture of the complexities and contradictions inherent in its enduring image as both a pristine wilderness and a highly sought-after tourist destination.

With essays by Amy Scott, William Deverell, Kate Nearpass Ogden, Gary F. Kurutz, Brian Bibby, Jennifer A. Watts, and Jonathan Spaulding

Copub: Autry National Center

About the Contributors
Amy Scott (Editor) is Curator of Visual Arts at the Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, California. William Deverell is Director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West. Kate Nearpass Ogden is Associate Professor of Art History at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Gary F. Kurutz is Curator of Special Collections at the California State Library. Brian Bibby is an independent scholar and author. Jennifer A. Watts is Curator of Photography at the Huntington Library. Jonathan Spaulding is Executive Director and Chief Curator at the Autry Museum of the American West.