Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
"Robert Backston became interested in lithography while attending Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio. After graduation, he worked for the Parma City School District in Parma, OH as an art teacher for 36 years. Backston then received his M.A. degree from Kent State University, and continued to create lithographs and other works during his career and after retirement as well. When interviewed, Backston said, “It’s a fabulous life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
This print represents the Valley of the Teton Mountains in the Grand Teton National Park. While the park spreads into Wyoming, most of the Valley lies in Idaho. The National Park was created in 1929 and then later expanded in 1950 to its present size. The picture appears to show snow-capped mountains, meaning it represents the season between November and April.
The lithograph depicts a few buildings in front of one giant mountain peak. A curved road in the lower right leads the eye toward a house, as well as a barn and other small structures. A row of darkened trees forms a natural transition between the buildings and the base of the mountain. Sparse landscaping fills the rest of the area in front of the house. The mountain dominates the view in sheer size, dwarfing the house. The lower part of the mountain is a cliff face. Snow apparently can be seen on the peak.
The print is quite realistic and also displays some impressionistic tendencies. The features are rendered true to form. Both linear and atmospheric perspectives are employed in order to give a sense of depth and grandeur to the view. The scale of the subjects is true to life, making it easy to understand the mountain’s actual size. The trees have an impressionistic appearance from the quick, wispy lines used to create the foliage and trunks. This print is similar in style to two other prints by Robert Backston made around the same time in Purdue’s collections: Garden of the Gods and Glistening Hides. One can see the same mixture of realism and impressionism in the other two lithographs.
Bibliography: “Grand Teton.” National Park Service. Web Accessed Apr. 4, 2011. Last modified Mar. 28, 2011. http://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm.; Backston, Robert. Phone interview with Kellye Longgood, Apr. 4, 2011.
Submitted by Kellye Longgood and Lindsey Zachman"