Grand Tetons Above Jenny Lake

Howard Everett Smith

Grand Teton National Park is located in the northwest portion of the state of Wyoming. It encompasses the Teton mountain range, the Grand Teton peak, and the valley known as Jackson Hole. With their sharp pyramids of naked rock, the Tetons are the most distinctive of the granite giants which comprise the Rocky Mountains. The Grand Teton National Park was established by an act of Congress in 1929. Human history in the Grand Tetons dates back 11,000 years. Shoshone, Bannock, Blackfoot, Crow, Flathead, Gros Ventre, and Nez Perce tribes all came to the valley to harvest the seasonal riches. To this day these mountains hold spiritual meaning for these tribes. Grand Teton peak rises to an elevation of 13,775 feet and the park covers an area of 480 square miles and is located solely in Wyoming. The park is just ten miles south of Yellowstone National Park.

Howard E. Smith painted his watercolor Grand Tetons Above Jenny Lake around 1940. The artist seems to have had an affinity for horses as he used them as subjects in much of his work. Here he depicts seasoned riders climbing toward the snow covered, jagged granite pinnacles above Jenny Lake. Their pack horses, bed rolls, and riding chaps suggest that this is a working excursion as opposed to the horseback rides available to tourists in the park today.