Yellowstone Waterfalls Project
There is a sacredness when one experiences a waterfall for the first time. Roaring and powerful, yet serene and calming, waterfalls are one of nature’s most magical creations. Their beauty often takes your breath away, creating a feeling of pure awe.
Part of a vast ecosystem of infinite poetic beauty, mostly hidden from the public, the waterfalls of Yellowstone National Park have captured for decades the imagination of artists and visitors alike
Re-known Award Winning Western Artist M.C. Poulsen was introduced in 2012 to “The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and their Discovery”. Until then, most of the waterfalls in Yellowstone remained hidden and undiscovered. Yellowstone’s waterfalls had been painted in the late 1800s, most notably by Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, who first captured the magnificence of a few falls creating the mystique that draws the public today to Yellowstone but, no one had painted the major falls nor the undiscovered ones! Poulsen was mesmerized: he wanted to be the first one to capture on oil and canvas the major and undiscovered falls. So he embarked on a ten year journey, hiking and horse riding deep into the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park.
Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. He joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion to paint the scenes. He was not the first artist to record the sites, but he was the foremost painter of them for the remainder of the 19th century.
Bierstadt was born in Prussia, but his family moved to the United States when he was one year old. He became part of the second generation of the Hudson River School in New York. Bierstadt was an important interpreter of the western landscape, and he is also grouped with the Rocky Mountain School.
Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. During the late 1860s, Moran was appointed chief illustrator for the Scribner’s Monthly, a position that helped him launch his career as one of the premier painters of the American landscape, in particular, the American West.
Moran along with Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill, and William Keith are referred to as belonging to the Rocky Mountain School of landscape painters because of all of the Western landscapes made by this group.
By painting the most spectacular Waterfalls of Yellowstone, Poulsen’s hope was to capture and reveal the insights of these cosmic beauties and share with his fellow humans the emotions he experienced. His paintings depict not only the beauty of the falls but incorporate Native American history and spiritual themes including wildlife and the settlement history of the area.
The Yellowstone Waterfalls Expeditions in the back country
In the course of ten years, M. C. Poulsen and his team travelled to the back country of Yellowstone to the hidden waterfalls. There, M.C. Poulsen starts his preliminary sketches and drawings trying to capture the magic of the Falls.
"Feeling the energy of falling water is a unique experience. To capture that feeling in a painting is impossible... but the energy coming from viewing the painting is the next best thing." - M. C. Poulsen
Painting the Falls of Yellowstone, M. C. Poulsen, Wyoming PBS | June 2017 (short Version 03m:20s)
Painting the Falls of Yellowstone
Wyoming PBS | Premiered 26 June 2017 | Special
In this documentary, Wyoming PBS follows Cody-based and internationally reknowed artist M. C Poulsen on his journey through the Park as he captures some of the most magnificent waterfalls on canvas.
The waterfalls of Yellowstone National Park have long captured the imagination of visitors and artists alike. Artists Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt first captured the magnificence and mystique of a few falls in the 1870s which helped establish the park. Over the last several decades, over 250 named and unnamed waterfalls and cascades have been discovered in accessible and backcountry areas of the Park. Their discovery prompted Cody-based and internationally renowned artist M.C. "Mike" Poulsen to try and capture these waterfalls on canvas. His work depicts not only the beauty of the falls but incorporates Native American history and spiritual themes, wildlife and the settlement history of the area. WyomingPBS followed Poulsen over two years providing insight into his vision and creative process.
© 2017 Wyoming PBS and M.C. Poulsen
© 2017 Wyoming PBS and M.C. Poulsen
Painting the Falls of Yellowstone
Wyoming PBS | Premiered 26 June 2017 | Special | 56m46s
© 2017 Wyoming PBS and M.C. Poulsen
