Our National Parks, Past and Present: A Conversation

The Huntington and the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West present a program focused on recent campaigns to preserve natural land in the form of national parks and monuments, discussed within the longer history of such efforts.
Lectures

The Huntington and the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West present a program focused on the history and present-day opportunities and challenges in the ongoing preservation of natural land in the form of national parks and monuments. How are the goals of the conservation movement and government agencies different now than they were in the late 19th century? How can we continue to improve our interactions with the landscapes that surround us? The newly expanded San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, located in Los Angeles’ backyard, builds on the history established at Yellowstone and Yosemite, but it differs from those parks. In particular, ideas about pristine “wilderness” and Indigenous land rights have evolved in the past 150 years. Together we will consider what that evolution means for the 21st century.

This program derives from the exhibition “Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis,” which traces the rise of environmental awareness throughout the long 19th century. The show focuses on the work of British and American writers and artists who helped garner public and government support for conservation, including the establishment of the earliest national parks in the United States.

About the Speakers

Join us for a conversation among Rep. Judy Chu, who has long worked on the San Gabriel Mountains designation; Kimberly Morales Johnson (Gabrieleno/Tongva), tribal secretary of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians; and Megan Kate Nelson, historian and author of Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America. The discussion will be moderated by Josh Garrett-Davis, The Huntington’s H. Russell Smith Foundation Curator of Western American History.

A grayscale image of people near a paved road in a national park with large mountains and a forested valley.

Binh Danh, Tunnel View Parking Lot, Yosemite, CA, 2017, daguerreotype. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Sept. 14, 2024–Jan. 6, 2025 | “Storm Cloud” analyzes the impact of industrialization and a globalized economy on everyday life from 1780 to 1930, as charted by scientists, artists, and writers, and contextualizes the current climate crisis within this historical framework.

The exhibition has been made possible with support from Getty through its PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative.

Red sun dial logo with text reading PST Art

Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART, returned in September 2024 with more than 70 exhibitions from museums and other institutions across the region, all exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information, visit PST ART: Art & Science Collide