Nature has inspired artists across centuries and cultures with its breathtaking vistas, soothing seascapes, wintry hilltops, powerful storms, and soaring mountaintops. If you need some inspiration to plan your next great outdoor adventure, be sure to check out these works from our collections to kick that wanderlust into full gear.
Thomas Hill, El Capitan and Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Valley (El Capitán y el salto “Bridalveil”, Valle de Yosemite), not dated. Oil on canvas. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Mills, by exchange.
Gustave Courbet, Beach at Dieppe (La playa de Dieppe), 1865-1870. Oil on canvas. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Murray.
Marsden Hartley, Purple Mountains, Vence (Montañas moradas, Vence), 1925-1926. Oil on canvas. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Orme Lewis.
Shangguan Zhou, Landscape: Playing the qin for a receptive audience (Paisaje: tocando el guqin para una audiencia receptiva), 1738. Ink and color on paper. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Marilyn and Roy Papp.
Gunnar Widforss, Kaibab Forest, Grand Canyon (Bosque Kaibab, Gran Cañon), 1923-1934. Watercolor. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Mrs. John Kieckhefer in memory of Caroline Smurthwaite from family and friends.
Edward Henry Potthast, Looking Across the Grand Canyon (Vista al Gran Cañon), c. 1910. Oil on canvas. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Western Art Associates.
Yamamoto Shunkyo, Autumn Landscape (Paisaje de otoño), not dated. Ink and color on silk. Gift of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou.
Ed Mell, Bolts of a Storm (Rayos de una tormenta), 1993. Oil on canvas. Gift of Edward Jacobson Revocable Trust.
Ernest Lawson, Winter Landscape (Paisaje de invierno), c. 1907. Oil on canvas. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Orme Lewis in memory of Mr. Bruce Barton, Jr.
Robert Henri, Beach at Atlantic City (La playa de Cuidad Atlántica), 1893. Oil on canvas. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Beattie.
Thomas Moran, Zoroaster Temple at Sunset (Templo de Zoroastro al atardecer), 1916. Oil on canvas. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Kieckhefer.
Claude Monet, Les arceaux fleuris, Giverny (Flowering Arches, Giverny [Arcos florecientes, Giverny]), 1913. Oil on canvas. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald D. Harrington.