This painting of Lake McDonald by John Fery is one of 21 historic paintings donated to Glacier National Park by concessionaire Glacier Park, Inc./NPS.
A collection of historic fine art paintings, owned or commissioned by the Great Northern Railway that helped see the establishment of Glacier National Park, has been donated to the park by Glacier Park, Inc.
Among the 21 paintings, originally created for the hotels, motels and lodges in the park, are works by John Fery, Frank Stick, R.H. Palenske, and Charles Defeo. Many depict iconic scenes in and around the national park. All of the paintings are estimated to have originated between 1909 and 1915, and have been on display at Lake McDonald Lodge, Many Glacier Hotel, Rising Sun Motor Inn and the Two Medicine Campstore in the park.
The majority of the pieces are oil on canvas paintings. They range in size from 2.5 feet x 1.5 feet, to almost 6 feet x 12 feet. Some are by unknown artists. A plaque commemorating the donation will be placed by each painting.
A condition of the donation was that the paintings remain in the hotels, motels and lodges for which they were created.
"Man on Horseback" by R.H. Palenske, 1913/NPS
'We greatly appreciate the willingness of the National Park Service to ensure that the original paintings be displayed in the lodges and properties within Glacier National Park, as they were intended when the Hill Family of the Great Northern Railway commissioned the paintings in the early 1900s. We are pleased that these beautiful images of the park's history will continue to be enjoyed by many more generations,' said Glacier Park, Inc. Vice President and General Manager Ron Cadrette.
'We are thrilled to receive this wonderful gift from Glacier Park, Inc.,' said Glacier Superintendent Jeff Mow. 'These paintings help tell the story of the early tourist accommodations in the park and the connection the railroad had in promoting this area to the nation.'
Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc.- Glacier National Park Lodges will be responsible for the care and maintenance of the paintings through their concessions contract with the park.
Glacier Park, Inc., also known as GPI and a subsidiary of Viad Corp, is currently the owner and operator of two properties within the park: Motel Lake McDonald and Apgar Village Lodge. They also own and operate five other lodging properties in the local vicinity of Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park. Glacier Park, Inc. operated many of the park lodges and hotels as the primary concessioner in the park until 2014.
Comments
Alfred, my own understanding is, and I could be wrong, the Yosemite Staff earmarked this issue in 1993 and kicked it up to Washington, they did not receive a response. Know nothing more than that or where it was filed "not now".
Probably in the round file. But there I go getting cynical again, when in truth I am celebrating these wonderful paintings. Years ago, I worked with the Great Northern Railway's successor, Burlington Northern Inc. (now BNSF), on the Mount Saint Helens donation project. It meant immersing myself in all of this wonderful art, much of which, at the time, was in BN's headquarters in downtown Seattle. Most of those great paintings are now in Fort Worth. BN had a full-time curator to manage and care for them all. It was great fun working with the remnants of the original concessionaires. The railroads brought to the parks a sense of class and elegance, and again, showed it in this wonderful art.
Then the railroads, too, started going "crazy" and forgot the public interest along the way. When Mount Saint Helens blew its top, it reminded BN at least: Yes, Mother Nature is still in charge. Of course, BN got some wonderful timber in exchange for the mountain, but hey, I never said that the railroads weren't capitalists. They just knew when and where to draw the line. And so those wonderful paintings that hung in Glacier got passed down to the public. Again, something for all of us to celebrate.