More than 100 paintings by 35 members and guests of the Plein-Air Painters of America begin touring the nation this fall. The exhibition documents 35 different National Park Service (NPS) units stretching from coast to coast and border to border.

BEING THERE. The adjective plein-air refers to the philosophical belief that going into the field and painting on-location, challenging as it may be, is crucial to successfully documenting a visual and emotional point in time and place.  The artists in this exhibition are recognized as some of the finest on-location painters in the country. Each visited his or her park, documenting locations that give vision to the unique elements that prompted U.S. Presidents and Congresses to  “preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”  

From Wyoming’s Yellowstone, designated a park in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant, to the Old Spanish National Historic Trail, designated by President George W. Bush in 2002, American Legacy takes viewers on a journey through 130 years of  preservation.  In many ways it is “field journal” experience of  jewel-like colors, dazzling light, and subtle nuances. Parks such as Kenai Fjords in Alaska are so vast and remote that Joan M. LaRue found it best to view it from a boat on the outside looking in. Golden Gate National Recreation Area, on the other hand, is  an urban retreat that Ken Auster has enjoyed many times himself. Breathtaking vistas and intimate off-road locations are captured in both field studies, as well as studio paintings created from field experiences.
 
TOUR SCHEDULE
The exhibition is traveling under the auspices of Smith Kramer Exhibition Services.

ARTISTS & PARKS
*Designates a Guest Artist


Ken Auster, Golden Gate
Kenn Backhaus, Appalachian Trail
Christopher Blossom, Weir Farm
John Budicin, Yosemite
Scott Burdick, Blue Ridge Parkway
Denise Burns, Death Valley
Gil Dellinger, Point Reyes
Mary DeLoyht-Arendt, Tonto
Don Demers, Acadia
Louise DeMore, Grand Teton
Gay Faulkenberry, Ozark
West Fraser, Cumberland Island*
Lynn Gertenbach, Santa Monica Mountains
Walt Gonske, Black Canyon of the Gunnison*
Quang Ho, Grand Canyon*
Raleigh Kinney, Voyageurs
Frank LaLumia, Canyon de Chelly
Joan M. LaRue, Kenai Fjords
Jean LeGassick, Great Basin
Kevin Macpherson, Zion
Joseph McGurl, Boston Harbor Islands*
Joseph Mendez, Mojave
Ned Mueller, North Cascades
Ralph Oberg, Yellowstone
Joe Paquet, Mississippi
Jean Perry, Mesa Verde
Ron Rencher, Canyonlands
Ray Roberts, Old Spanish Trail
Jane Shuss, Salem Maritime
Matt Smith, Saguaro
Kathryn Stats, Capitol Reef*
Brian Stewart, St. Croix
George Strickland, Organ Pipe Cactus
Linda Tippetts, Glacier
Skip Whitcomb, Rocky Mountain