Bringing Light and Color to Crater Lake

About this event

Crater Lake National Park was signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902. It was the fifth of over sixty national parks in the United States. In commemoration of Oregon's only national park, the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) has created a new exhibit, Creating a Masterpiece: Artists and the Origins of Crater Lake National Park (on view from November 20, 2026 to January 9, 2028) and published the Oregon Historical Quarterly 's Fall 2026 special issue, entitled "Crater Lake and Artistic Imagination."

Professor Peter Boag and OHS curator Megan Lallier-Barron tell the story of how 19th-century landscape painters brought Crater Lake to regional and national audiences and influenced its national park designation. They share the inspiration and research behind the exhibition and discuss how - through everything from historic paintings and photographs to museum objects and QR codes - they have made the story available to a modern audience.

From McMenamins and Oregon Historical Society