Plumas Arts will exhibit the historically significant photographs by Philip Hyde that helped to preserve and promote many of our national parks at the Capitol Art Gallery at 525 Main Street in Quincy from May 3 to June 1.

An opening reception Friday, May 3, 5-7 pm launches the show.

During his 60-year full-time large format film photography career Philip Hyde lived with his wife Ardis in Plumas County for 56 years. His photographs that are part of permanent collections and were shown in venues such as the Smithsonian, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, George Eastman House and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, now come home for a rare showing in Plumas County. The Plumas Arts show will be the first local exhibition of its kind since Hyde's passing in 2006.

Philip Hyde first made images of the Sierra Nevada at age 16 in 1937 on a Boy Scout backpack in Yosemite National Park with a camera he borrowed from his sister. By 1942 he was making photographs of artistic merit in black and white, and much more rare at the time, in color. In 1945, as he was about to be honorably discharged from the Army Air Corp of World War II, Hyde wrote to Ansel Adams asking for recommendations for photography schools. Adams happened at the time to be finalizing plans for a new photography department at the California School of Fine Art, now the San Francisco Art Institute. The new photography school was the first ever to teach creative photography as a profession. Adams hired Minor White as lead instructor and he brought on teachers who were luminaries and definers of the medium such as Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange and Imogen Cunningham.

Referred to as "a quiet and humble giant" by prominent landscape photographer Q. T. Luong, Hyde chose to live in the wilderness of Plumas County, sacrificing the greater monetary success of living close to the marketplace of the Bay Area for values more important to him. He set an example of living a simple, close to nature, low-impact lifestyle that becomes more relevant as a model all the time. Q. T. Luong wrote of Hyde that by "…living a simple life out of the spotlight, he always felt that his own art was secondary to nature's beauty and fragility… As an artist, this belief was reflected in his direct style, which appears deceptively descriptive, favoring truthfulness and understatement rather than dramatization."

Philip Hyde spent over one quarter of each year of his career on the back roads, trails, rails, rivers, lakes and ocean coasts of North America making the photographs that influenced a generation of photographers. Today some find it easy to take his compositions for granted, but this mainly happens because they have been emulated countless times. Much of landscape photography today applies principles and techniques developed by Hyde.

Philip Hyde's wide sweeping impact started with his role as the primary illustrator of the Sierra Club Exhibit Format Series, the series that popularized the large coffee table photography book. The series also contained popular titles by Ansel Adams and color photographer Eliot Porter. Porter, along with Hyde is credited with introducing color to landscape photography. Well known photographer William Neill said, "I have little doubt that every published nature photographer of my generation has been inspired by Philip's efforts."

Just as Philip Hyde inspired photographers, his wife Ardis inspired him and traveled as his companion throughout his life and after most would have retired. With Ardis, he built his home near Indian Creek surrounded by woods. Over a two-year period, Philip designed, drew the plans and constructed not only the home with Ardis' help, but also gathered local river rock for a large fireplace.

The Hydes first came to Plumas County in 1948 through a chance meeting on a train with Ardis' friend from college then living at Lake Almanor, who helped Philip land a summer job in Greenville at the Cheney Mill. Having a young college kid from the city endlessly amused the other workers at the sawmill. One time young Philip even fell into the stinky millpond, which drew great laughter and a ticket home for the day to photograph. Ardis taught kindergarten and first grade for 12 years to help supplement Philip's photography efforts beginning in 1950 when the Hydes settled in Plumas County.

A portion of all proceeds from the exhibition will go directly to the Feather River Land Trust and an extra portion beyond the usual artist gallery arrangement will go to Plumas Arts, continuing Hyde's tradition of contribution to the community.

Gallery Hours for the exhibition are Wednesday, Thursday & Friday from 11am to 5:30pm and Saturdays from 11am to 3pm. Arrangements may also be made for viewings outside these times by calling Plumas Arts at 283-3402.