Art Speaks: Environmentalism

There have been many artists, both past and present, who have used their talents to spread environmental messages.

As discussed in an earlier post, in the mid-nineteenth century, Thomas Cole visually depicted his conflict between progress and environmental destruction in The Hunter’s Return. In his Essay on American Scenery, Cole states, “I cannot but express my sorrow that the beauty of such landscapes is quickly passing away—the ravages of the axe are daily increasing…This is a regret rather than a complaint; such is the road society has to travel.”

Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902), Sunrise, Yosemite Valley, ca. 1870, oil on canvas, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, 1966

Albert Bierstadt captured the beauty of Yosemite in works like Sunrise, Yosemite Valley. President Abraham Lincoln had signed a bill just a few years earlier to protect the area, marking the first instance of park land being set aside specifically for preservation and public use by action of the U.S. federal government. Bierstadt’s beautiful images, along with others’ depictions, helped convince government officials and the public that these places were important to be preserved during a time of vast expansion. Yosemite set a precedent for the 1872 creation of Yellowstone as the first U.S. national park. Yellowstone’s protection, in turn, was aided by artworks by Thomas Moran, and he recorded his thoughts about his Yellowstone excursions in his diary.

Eliot Porter (1901–1990), Sunrise on River, Navajo Creek, Glen Canyon, Utah, August 27, 1961, dye imbibition print, © Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, bequest of the artist, P1990.51.4998

In the twentieth century, photographer Eliot Porter, in collaboration with the Sierra Club, combined his photographs of Utah’s Glen Canyon with environmental quotations and sent the publication to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall, and every member of Congress with a plea not to complete and implement the Glen Canyon Dam. Although the book did not stop the project, it built important public and government support for limiting further dam construction on western rivers.

Have artworks inspired you or your students to take action to preserve our planet? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

-Stacy Fuller