An October sunset provides a counterpoint to the moist atmosphere of a summer sunrise (see related image below). The air now crisp, grasses and trees along the horizon contrast sharply against the sky. Thirty years ago, and for many decades prior, the bottomlands in this scene were covered with corn and soybeans fenced off from the cows that grazed the adjacent hills. It was on those hills that the prairie species persisted, supplying the seed bank for the restoration of the surrounding fields. In 2013, nearly a third of Nachusa, including this core area, was dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve.
Location on map of Nachusa visitor center: https://goo.gl/maps/i5e3XBExocqXfP1Y6
Studio painting. – July.
Exhibition History
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May 1 - September 12, 2021
Chicago Botanic Garden
Glencoe, Illinois
Publication History
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Picturing the Prairie: A Vision of Restoration
Published in conjunction with Philip’s 2021 exhibition at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Contributors include: Philip Juras, artist and author; Hank Paulson, foreword; and Stephen Packard, essay. Published by Little Bluestem Press, Athens, GA, 2021.
