The national parks, monuments, and historic sites of the Southwest have long provided opportunities for people to form deeper connections to the land, its diverse communities, and the histories that shape the American experience. This exhibition celebrated these landscapes and their cultural significance, highlighting their role in fostering a sense of place and shared heritage.
At the time of the exhibition, the Four Corners states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico were home to 13 national parks and 37 national monuments and historic sites. Several of these locations were represented through historic and contemporary photographs and objects from the Center’s collections. The exhibition commemorated the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service.
Writer and environmentalist Wallace Stegner once observed that “National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.” This quotation, drawn from Marking the Sparrow’s Fall: The Making of the American West (1983), underscored the exhibition’s themes of national identity and environmental stewardship.