The Grand Canyon is wild and unforgiving. But it is also one of the most stunning landscapes on Earth—a place for recreation, reflection and reverence. A new Smithsonian exhibition allows us to marvel at this natural wonder without camping equipment, emergency rations or rappelling ropes. Featuring 60 color photographs, Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Grand Canyon Association.

Lasting Light reveals the dedication of those who have attempted to capture the Grand Canyon on film from the earliest days to modern times. Covering nearly 125 years of photographic history, the exhibition includes images of early photographers dangling from cables to get the perfect shot, their cumbersome camera equipment balanced precariously on their shoulders. More modern images are bold and dramatic, revealing the canyon’s capricious weather, its flora and fauna, waterfalls and wading pools, and awe-inspiring cliffs and rock formations.

Grand Canyon National Park, 2,000 square miles of snaking river beds and sheer rock walls, is a world like no other, where vibrant cliffs and flowing water create a striking complement to the Western sky. “What you do is keep it for your children, your children’s children, and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American should see,” Teddy Roosevelt urged. Roosevelt, ever the naturalist, was just one of the canyon’s devotees. There are millions of others, including the 26 featured photographers of Lasting Light, who ran the river and climbed the rocks to capture these breathtaking images.

Gallery Hours   

Monday - 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Tuesday - 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday -  8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Thursday - 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday -  8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Saturday -  11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Sunday - 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Field Trip Planning

Join us by registering your educational field trip or school group for a tour of "Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography." While on campus, groups can engage in various interdisciplinary activities related to the exhibition which are tied to the PA State Academic Standards. Curriculum materials developed by the National Park Service can be found here http://www.nps.gov/grca/forteachers/lessonplansandteacherguides.htm: . Field trip groups are able to visit the gallery outside of its normal operating hours. For more information or to register your group please contact Walter Czekaj, Director of University Exhibitions, at 724-938-5244 or czekaj@cal.edu.

Upcoming Exhibition

Native Words, Native Warriors - Spring 2012