John Clymer’s painting “Sublette and Campbell, 1883”
is one of the pieces in the park’s fine art collection.
June 29, 2010
10-44Selections of Grand Teton National Park’s fine art collection, previously on exhibit at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, will be temporarily on loan to the National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) for the next several months. In a continuing partnership with the NMWA, the artwork will be displayed in the Museum’s Wapiti Gallery while the Discovery Center is under construction to add an auditorium.
The park’s fine art collection was initiated by the Grand Teton Association in the late 1950’s; this eclectic collection features
work by John Clymer, Olaus Murie, Conrad Schwiering, Jim Wilcox,
Joanne Hennes, and Harrison Crandall, as well as many others. These prominent artists found creative inspiration from the Teton landscape, and each skillfully captured the spectacular scenery and wild inhabitants of this region. The notable collection serves as a testament to the crucial role that art has played in preserving
Grand Teton National Park and other public lands, and it highlights the historic significance of artwork throughout the Jackson Hole area.
During the summer of 2007, representatives from the curatorial department at the NMWA installed a selection of paintings from the Grand Teton collection in the newly built Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center. When the Discovery Center opened in August of 2007, visitors were treated to a variety of interpretive exhibits, as well as a spacious art gallery featuring original work by some of the area’s greatest painters. Along with work from the Grand Teton collection, the NMWA also installed three of its own paintings: Mary Roberson’s Enchanted Forest, Conrad Schwiering’s Grand Tetons, and Richard Murray’s Cougar, along with a life-sized bronze sculpture by Dan Ostermiller, titled “Tres Osos” (Three Bears) depicting a mother grizzly and her two cubs.
“We are so grateful that the National Museum of Wildlife Art offered to house and exhibit the park’s fine art collection and make it accessible for public viewing during the time that construction is underway on the Craig Thomas Discovery Center,” said Acting Grand Teton National Park Superintendent John Wessels. “We value our partnership with the Museum, and appreciate their kind offer to care for Grand Teton’s fine art collection while exhibit space in the park is unavailable. During the next few months, we hope that visitors and local residents will take advantage of the opportunity to view pieces from the park’s collection in the world-class setting of the National Museum of Wildlife Art.”
The Grand Teton collection will be on display in the NMWA’s Wapiti Gallery from June through early September. The museum is located just north of Jackson, and open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
