Overview

George Alexander Grant is an unknown elder in the field of American landscape photography. Just as they did the work of his contemporaries Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Eliot Porter, and others, millions of people viewed Grant’s photographs; unlike those contemporaries, few even knew Grant’s name. Landscapes for the People shares his story through his remarkable images and a compelling biography profiling patience, perseverance, dedication, and an unsurpassed love of the natural and historic places that Americans chose to preserve. A Pennsylvania native, Grant was introduced to the parks during the summer of 1922 and resolved to make parks work and photography his life. Seven years later, he received his dream job and spent the next quarter century visiting the four corners of the country to produce images in more than one hundred national parks, monuments, historic sites, battlefields, and other locations. He was there to visually document the dramatic expansion of the National Park Service during the New Deal, including the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Grant’s images are the work of a master craftsman. His practiced eye for composition and exposure and his patience to capture subjects in their finest light are comparable to those of his more widely known contemporaries. Nearly fifty years after his death, and in concert with the 2016 centennial of the National Park Service, it is fitting that George Grant’s photography be introduced to a newgeneration of Americans.

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9780820348414

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When we think of seminal American landscape photographers, we name Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter. We can now add George Alexander Grant, thanks to Ren and Helen Davis, who have reclaimed Grant's invaluable yet forgotten work as the first official photographer for the National Parks Service. . . . Two hundred breathtaking images of mountains and valleys, sand dunes and redwoods, rivers and waterfalls are handsomely presented here, pictures of technical and aesthetic sophistication and an 'understated style' that perfectly capture the magnificence of our wisely preserved wilderness areas as the National Parks Service came of age.--Donna Seaman Booklist

A solid sampling of Grant s wonderful photos is organized here. . . It s fascinating to see early 20th-century visitors period clothes and automobiles contrasted with the timeless environment of the locations in these over 60-year-old images. Recommended for readers interested in America s national parks, in conservation, or in nature and wildlife photography.--Michael Dashkin Library Journal

For more than two decades, George A. Grant traveled throughout this land, producing superb images of America s most iconic scenery and historic sites, including those of the ancient past. Although little known to the public, Grant belongs in the pantheon of this country s great landscape photographers, such as William Henry Jackson and Ansel Adams. This is Grant s first full biography, with a gallery of his photographs for enjoyment by your fireside or in the classroom. Richard West Sellars, author of Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History

Author Information

Ren Davis’s travel writing and photography have appeared in such places as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GeorgiaMagazine, and Atlanta Magazine. Helen Davis taught for nearly thirty years in public and private schools. The Davises are coauthors of several books including Georgia Walks and Atlanta Walks. They live in Atlanta.

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