Program to Highlight Harrison Crandall, Early Photographer

Crandall Painting
Harrison Crandall painting, circa mid 1960s, donated to Grand Teton NP by Crandall's daughter Quita Pownall in 2008.

Photo by Jackie Skaggs

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News Release Date: August 29, 2013

Contact: Public Affairs Office, 307.739.3393

Harrison R. Crandall was the first official Grand Teton National Park photographer and served as a resident artist from the 1920s until the 1960s. Professor and author Kenneth A. Barrick will provide insight into Crandall's art and tenure as park photographer during a public event on Thursday, September 5 at 5 p.m. in the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center auditorium. Barrick will also unveil his new coffee-table book, "Harrison R. Crandall: Creating a Vision of Grand Teton National Park."  Harrison Crandall's daughter and son-in-law, Quita and Herb Pownall, and other family members will join Dr. Barrick during a book signing after his presentation. A second book signing will take place on September 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Jenny Lake Visitor Center. 

Harrison "Hank" Crandall homesteaded in Jackson Hole in 1922. As a master photographer, fine-art painter and early concessionaire, Crandall was a fervent supporter of Grand Teton National Park until his death in 1970. In fact, he was the first resident artist in the valley and ran two Crandall Studios for decades: one at Jenny Lake (now the Jenny Lake Visitor Center) and the other at the former town of Moran near the shore of Jackson Lake. Crandall is best known for his landscape photos and oil paintings of the Teton Range, hand-painted wildflower photographs, and images of ranch life in Jackson Hole—including cowboys and cowgirls 

As a professor with the Department of Geography at the University of Alaska- Fairbanks for the past 28 years, Dr. Barrick specialized in teaching natural resource management and physical geography, and he conducted research in the Rocky Mountains, including studies in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. For over 10 years, he has also done extensive research on Harrison Crandall's contributions to the art of national parks. Dr. Barrick's new coffee-table book examines the range of Crandall's Teton art, and reveals details about the Crandall family history. His book also contains many interesting and historic photographs taken from family albums and made public for the first time. 

This public presentation is being co-sponsored by Grand Teton National Park and its non-profit partner of 76 years, the Grand Teton Association. 

"Thursday's event offers a wonderful opportunity to discover the important contributions made to fine art, photography and Grand Teton National Park by one of Jackson Hole's early artist/photographers," said Jan Lynch, executive director of Grand Teton Association. "This will also be a rare chance to meet Harrison Crandall's family and learn about their personal history with Grand Teton."



Last updated: February 24, 2015

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