Photographer Clyde Butcher Hosts Open House

Famed photographer Clyde Butcher (www.clydebutcher.com) and his wife Niki are hosting a public meet-and-greet open house and previewing a new photography collection on March 21 and 22 at Clyde Butcher’s Venice Gallery & Studio located at 237 Warfield Ave. in Venice from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

This rare opportunity to meet the artist will give guests insight into why many consider Butcher the foremost photographer in America today. Free of charge, visitors will have a unique opportunity to meet Butcher and see a sneak preview of his “America the Beautiful” photographs, which celebrates the National Parks System Centennial. The preview will showcase some of the images that will be featured as part of the National Parks System Centennial anniversary. Attendees will also receive a behind-the-scenes tour of his incredible darkroom, a one-of-a-kind, 2,200-square-foot area.

Celebrated for his iconic photographs of Florida and the Everglades, Butcher is frequently asked whether he ever photographs outside the state of Florida. The “America the Beautiful: The Monumental Landscape” photographs answers that question. Using Deardorff large-format view cameras and wide-angle lenses to capture images ranging from 3 x 4 feet to 5 x 9 feet, Butcher spent years photographing wilderness from California to New England. The result is a series of memorable photographs that expand our view of what constitutes the American landscape.

“Clyde’s shockingly beautiful black and white views of land make him a natural successor to Ansel Adams, although he eclipses that father of the American landscape photography through his vision and use of size, clarity, light and composition,” said Aaron H. DeFroft, Ph.D., director of Muscarelle Museum of Art, College of William and Mary. “He will be one of the greatest photographers in American history.”

About Clyde Butcher

Clyde Butcher’s black and white photographs explore his personal relationship with the environment. For more than 40 years, Butcher’s photography has been preserving the untouched areas of the landscape on film. His images, ranging in size, are captured with an 8”x 10”, 11”x 14”, and 12”x 20” view camera. The large-format camera allows him to express the elaborate detail and textures that distinguish the intricacy of the landscape.

Recent projects include work for Florida’s “Save Our Rivers” program, the South Florida Water Management District, the D.E.P., Divisions of State Lands, the Bureau of Submerged Lands and Preserves, Everglades National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, River Keepers and the Wilderness Society. Clyde has been honored by the state of Florida with the highest award that can be given a private citizen: the Artist Hall of Fame Award. He has also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association and honored with the Humanitarian of the Year for 2005 from International University. He was also given the Heartland Community Service Award from the state of Florida for educating the people of Florida about the beauty of their state. The Sierra Club has gifted him with the Ansel Adams Conservation Award, which is given to a photographer who shows excellence in photography and has contributed to the public awareness of the environment.

A large selection of Clyde’s photography can be seen at his Venice Gallery & Studio in Venice, Fla. and at his Big Cypress Gallery, which is located on 13 acres in the center of the Everglades in the Big Cypress National Preserve. For more information, visit www.clydebutcher.com/events.cfm.