TRENDING: New art books act as a vehicle to travel America’s national parks

TRENDING

Your national parks: A different view

New art books depict America’s treasured parks on the page By Brigid Mander

For thousands of years, humans have scratched their own interpretation of the natural world onto any available surface. A bit more recently—about a century ago—as part of FDR’s New Deal, the Works Progress Administration hired hundreds of artists to depict numerous aspects of life, including the beauty of America’s national parks. Though many have been lost to time, the remaining posters from the 1930s and ’40s still resonate today. In that vein, some new projects focusing on national parks and other natural treasures have been released with wildly varying takes by each artist. Perusing books full of art—especially in an age where the immersive travel experience has in large part been overwhelmed by bucket-listing visitors posting curated images to the internet—is a striking reminder to slow down and take in the moment. These new books have the capacity to make readers laugh, inspire new adventures, and thrill the armchair traveler with new takes on ancient landscapes.

Art of the National Parks: Five years ago, artists began an initiative called FiftyNine Parks in an effort to bring art posters back to the parks in the style of the beloved WPA posters. The book is a compilation of posters by contemporary artists for each of the 63 national parks (up from the 59 in 2016) in the United States. Five percent of profits go to the National Park Service. Simon and Schuster, $45

The American Landscape Project: Fans of James Niehues, the famed ski-area map artist, will be thrilled with new drawings of national parks and other lesser-known yet spectacular wild American landscapes, such as Mount Stuart in Washington’s OkanoganWenatchee National Forest. So far, his instantly recognizable depictions vary from the Pacific coast to the Wind River Range in Wyoming’s harsh, unforgiving interior, to Maine’s Acadia National Park. Jamesniehues.com, from $80

Subpar Parks: America’s Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors: Artist Amber Share’s delightfully hilarious series of drawings combines paintings of iconic, sublime natural scenes with online reviews by duly unimpressed visitors. The New York Times best seller is based on Share’s popular Instagram account, and in the book the artist supplements her indictment of the reviewers with informative park insight. Penguin Random House, $22