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Artist
Carl Everton Moon, 5 Oct 1878 - 24 Jun 1948
Sitter
John Burroughs, 3 Apr 1837 - 29 Mar 1921
John Muir, 21 Apr 1838 - 24 Dec 1914
Date
1909
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 22.6 × 17.5 cm (8 7/8 × 6 7/8")
Topic
Costume\Headgear\Hat
Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree
Exterior\Landscape\Western
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Nature & Environment\Rock
John Muir: Male
John Muir: Natural Resource Occupations\Explorer
John Muir: Literature\Writer\Magazine article writer
John Muir: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Environmentalist
John Muir: Literature\Writer\Novelist
John Muir: Science and Technology\Scientist\Naturalist
John Muir: Literature\Writer\Nature writer
John Burroughs: Male
John Burroughs: Literature\Writer
John Burroughs: Natural Resource Occupations\Agriculturist\Farmer
John Burroughs: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher
John Burroughs: Science and Technology\Scientist\Naturalist
Portrait
Place
United States\Arizona\Grand Canyon
United States\Arizona\Grand Canyon
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the generosity of Tracy Thompson and David C. Ward in recognition of NatureBridge
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2013.62
Exhibition Label
This photograph shows the influential naturalist John Muir (right) and writer John Burroughs (left) at the Grand Canyon. It accompanied a 1911 essay in which Boroughs reflected, “The camera would have shown . . . only our silent, motionless forms as we stood transfixed by that first view of the stupendous spectacle. Words do not come readily to one’s lips, or gestures to one’s body, in the presence of such a scene.”
Muir helped establish the national park system, believing that exposure to wilderness encouraged people to preserve it: “If every citizen could take one walk through this reserve, there would be no more trouble about its care; only in darkness does vandalism flourish.” Muir was a founder of the Sierra Club (1892), which has recently wrestled with Muir’s legacy, particularly his marginalization of Native Americans on their ancestral lands and his exclusion of people of color from conservation efforts.
Esta fotografía muestra al influyente naturalista John Muir (derecha) y al escritor John Burroughs (izquierda) en el Gran Cañón. Se publicó con un ensayo de 1911 en el que Burroughs comentó: “La cámara mostraría [...] solo nuestras figuras silenciosas, inmóviles, transfiguradas por esa primera vista del formidable espectáculo. Ante una escena tal, las palabras no acuden fácilmente a los labios, ni los gestos al cuerpo”.
Muir contribuyó a implantar el sistema de parques nacionales, pensando que el contacto con las áreas naturales estimularía al público a preservarlas: “Si cada ciudadano diera una caminata por esta reserva, acabarían los problemas de su cuidado; solo en la oscuridad prospera el vandalismo”. Muir fue fundador del Sierra Club (1892), el cual ha debido confrontar su legado recientemente, sobre todo la marginación de los pueblos indígenas en sus tierras ancestrales y la exclusión de las personas de color en los esfuerzos de conservación.
