“Do It for the Gram”
Thomas Moran, William Henry Jackson, and the Power of Visual Storytelling in the GAPE
Although my official job title is oral historian, I prefer to think of myself as a storyteller. You can find stories everywhere—in your own life experiences, in books, and even out in nature. Additionally, storytellers can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes from writers to exhibit designers and even to social media influencers who “do it for the gram.”
Nineteenth-century geologist Ferdinand Hayden knew the power of storytelling when he put together an expedition team to explore the Yellowstone River basin in 1871 after receiving funding from Congress. Not only did he include scientists of all types—including an ornithologist, a meteorologist, and a mineralogist, for example—and support staff but also he invited artists, including a photographer, William Henry Jackson, and a painter, Thomas Moran.
Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden/NPS Photo by William Henry Jackson
Obviously, there wasn’t any social media in the GAPE, and the artists of Hayden’s Yellowstone expedition couldn’t “do it for the gram.” However, Hayden did expect them to do it for Congress and the public. Hayden wanted to prove with visual evidence that the expedition’s scientific discoveries were valid and that expedition members really did set foot in the Yellowstone River basin.
William H. Jackson – Self Portrait/NPS by William Henry Jackson
Once they arrived at the basin, Jackson and Moran looked for ways to tell the story of Yellowstone’s landscapes. As a photographer, Jackson focused on depicting reality. In particular, he liked to provide a sense of scale in his photos, so he sometimes invited another expedition member to pose beside natural phenomena like a rock formation—often Moran. Then viewers would get a sense of not only the grandeur of the Yellowstone basin but also its vastness.
Mammoth Hot Spring/NPS Photo by William Henry Jackson
Moran, for his part, was less concerned about the accuracy of his paintings and instead focused on capturing the majesty of the natural landscape. He wasn’t afraid to combine elements from different places in Yellowstone into one painting and even to add components of his own invention to the painting. As he wrote in a letter to Hayden upon returning from Yellowstone:
“I have always held that the grandest, most beautiful, or most wonderful in Nature would, in capable hands, make the grandest, most beautiful, or wonderful pictures; and the business of a great painter should be the representation of great scenes in nature.”
Thomas Moran/NPS Photo by William Henry Jackson
As one example, Moran’s The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, painted after he returned from the expedition, melded together different landscapes from Yellowstone, based on Jackson’s photographs. He also added a Native American guide to the scene alongside Hayden even though the expedition didn’t actually employ such a guide.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1872/Thomas Moran/Department of the Interior Museum
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone/NPS Photo by William Henry Jackson
Hayden didn’t set out on the expedition intending to encourage Congress to establish a national park. However, he soon adopted this idea originally proposed by railroad men who hoped to rake in substantial profits from tourism to the Yellowstone basin. From Hayden’s perspective, Congress should preserve the region, full of geothermic features from geysers to hot springs, as land for the American public to enjoy and should not allow individuals to snatch up bits and pieces of the valuable territory.
When Hayden returned to Washington, DC, after completing the expedition, he and some other expedition members put together a “Yellowstone exhibit” in the Capitol Rotunda that included Jackson’s photographs, Moran’s watercolors, and some scientific specimens to persuade politicians of the need for conservation. Apparently, it worked because the Senate passed a bill in favor of the measure.
After this success, Hayden rushed to submit his preliminary report to the Department of the Interior, which included five maps, sixty-four illustrations, and two plates of photographs, watercolors, and sketches. He then gave a condensed report to the House Committee on Public Lands. After some debate in the House, the majority voted in favor of the bill to establish the Yellowstone River basin as America’s first national park (called “public park” in the bill itself). It became official on March 1, 1872, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill into law.
“First” Picture of Old Faithful Eruption/NPS Photo by William Henry Jackson
Of course, Jackson’s and Moran’s storytelling wasn’t the only thing that helped Yellowstone become a national park. However, their visual creations helped tell the story of Yellowstone’s natural features and why they should be preserved as public land.
As a side note, Jackson, Moran, and others left out some stories about the Yellowstone region, namely those of the Indigenous people who had lived there for years and who relied on its natural resources for sustenance. For more on these stories, I’d recommend reading Megan Kate Nelson’s Saving Yellowstone, an overview of the creation of Yellowstone.
I, for one, am grateful that 150 years ago, Hayden, Jackson, Moran, and others used narrative to persuade Congress to consecrate Yellowstone for public use. Although I haven’t been to Yellowstone National Park yet, I’m a huge fan of the national parks, and it’s my goal to visit all sixty-three of them.
There are many stories yet to be told, and like Jackson—and perhaps Moran, if you’re artsy enough—we too can take photos or paint to remind ourselves and others of the importance of the national parks.
In particular, at the end of this month, you’ll have a chance to “do it for the gram” on National Public Lands Day (September 24) when you can visit any national park for free. So pull out those phones and colored pencils and proclaim the beauty of the national parks. Conservation and storytelling go hand-in-hand, as they have since our first national park, Yellowstone.
My “do it for the gram” moment celebrating the last day of my twenties hiking to Delicate Arch with my hiking buddy (and husband), Cole
SPECIAL REQUEST: I’m already starting to think about topics for Missing Pieces in 2023. I want to know what you would enjoy reading about more, so please vote in the poll below. It will only be up for three days so get your vote in before the weekend!
I enjoyed the pictures and painting and learning about the formation of the first national park.