There are hundreds of books about the history of conservation and natural resources, including biographies of the important leaders, and tales of early settlers. But there is almost always something missing, namely, the contribution of artists. Modern conservationists have largely forgotten that artists started it all. I was reminded of it this week by a visit from my mother and aunt, both of whom took up painting some years ago and have become very accomplished. Their works adorn the walls of numerous friends and family – portraits, still lifes, wildlife, and especially landscapes. In that sense, they are part of a long and proud American tradition.
When the first explorers arrived in America, they were lured not just by a desire for religious freedom and independence from tyranny, but also by the quest for wealth. They found a continent almost unoccupied, but so rich in land and resources that from the perspective of Europeans, whose own continent had been fully settled and wholly owned for generations, it seemed an unimaginable bonanza. Unclaimed land, hardwood trees, pure water, rich minerals, productive soil, and moderate climate promised almost certain wealth for whoever could occupy it.
By the 17th Century most of the East Coast had been claimed and settled. These colonists were interested in the land, minerals, wildlife, forests, and rivers of the New World for one reason only: to build prosperous families and societies. They had little interest in nature for its own sake, and could never imagine exhausting these seemingly endless resources. It was two centuries before there was any serious debate about responsible management. But it took much less time for Americans to fall in love with their environment, in an almost spiritual sense. Within just a few years of settlement, they were writing about the breathtaking beauty of the countryside, and by the time of the American Revolution the natural world had become a primary focus of the arts, especially painting.
The Revolutionary War caused many soldiers to travel for the first time, visiting places they had scarcely heard of, and the desire for news of the war produced dozens of illustrators, engravers, and painters. Those early works of journalism had one common characteristic – they portrayed war scenes against spectacular backdrops of forests, oceans, rivers, and mountains. Those early attempts at war correspondence gave rise to the continent’s first truly American style of art.
Now known as the Hudson River School, a group of artists led by Thomas Cole began painting landscapes that portrayed the grandeur of American scenery, often in combination with allegorical themes. The works of Cole, Asher Durand, John Kensett, Thomas Doughty, and Jasper Cropsey attracted nationwide attention, and led to the creation of the National Academy of Design to showcase uniquely American art. Its exhibition in 1836 was widely praised by famous authors, including William Cullen Bryant and James Fenimore Cooper. Many of these artists and writers became friends, using the same subjects for their work. Bryant wrote poems like “Forest Hymn,” “To a Waterfowl,” and “Caterskill Falls.” Cooper’s “Leatherstocking Tales” romanticized the great outdoors and produced numerous literary followers. Perhaps the most famous is Henry David Thoreau, whose 1854 publication of “Walden, or Life in the Woods” became a pivotal event in the history of conservation, the earliest attempt to portray nature as the giver of life. His work gave rise to a popular literary trend, the nature essay. Hundreds were published, celebrating the wonders of nature, especially birds, insects and wildlife. Local bird watcher and butterfly clubs sprang up across the country. They collected drawings and pictures from artists like John James Audubon, who spent most of his life traveling North America drawing birds and animals.
By the end of the 1850’s the American art world was all but totally dominated by the second generation of Hudson River School painters, especially Asher Durand, Albert Bierstadt and Frederick Church. Their work continued the portrayal of idealized landscapes not only along the rivers of the East, but also the Rocky Mountains, the southwestern deserts, and the tropics.
After the U.S. expanded West, with the Louisiana Purchase (1803), the Adams-Onis Treaty (1819), the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848), and the Gadsden Purchase (1850), Congress finally had to consider how to manage federally owned lands. Those debates, among leaders who had never seen these lands, were largely informed by the impressions they got from the arts. Thus, every painter of American landscapes, even today, contributes to our understanding of the quality of life and the value of natural resources.
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