November 13, 2026 2:50 a.m.

The Oregon Historical Society’s exhibition, “Creating a Masterpiece: Artists and the Origins of Crater Lake National Park”, opens November 20th.

An OHS release said, as Crater Lake National Park approaches its 125th anniversary in 2027, the event explores how artists transformed a relatively little-known Oregon landscape into a national fascination.

The event features 21 original paintings — many of which have never been displayed together — alongside historical photographs, correspondence, illustrations, and other objects, the exhibition examines the intersection of art, science, conservation, and indigenous history.

Artists including James Everett Stuart, Grace Russell Fountain, Mabel Russell, and William Samuel Parrott, helped popularize Crater Lake through their paintings and exhibitions. Their work also became an important tool in the campaign to establish a national park. In 1902, as Congress debated the creation of Crater Lake National Park, one of Oregon artist Grace Russell Fountain’s paintings was displayed in the U.S. Capitol.

“Creating a Masterpiece: Artists and the Origins of Crater Lake National Park” will be on view at the Oregon Historical Society, in Portland, from November 20th, through January 9th, 2028. Learn more at: www.ohs.org/museum/exhibits/creating-a-masterpiece.cfm.