C LY D E B U T C H E R
LEGENDARY Today the foremost landscape photographer in America is Clyde Butcher, whose immense and shockingly beautiful black and white views of the land make him the only natural successor to Ansel Adams, although he eclipses that father of American landscape photography through his vision and his use of size, clarity, light and composition. He will be one of the greatest photographers in American history. Aaron De Groft, Ph.D. Muscarelle Museum of Art, College of William and Mary
ICONIC Clyde Butcher has traveled extensively across the United States and abroad to capture the diversity, dignity, and beauty of nature on film for more than 50 years. His extensive body of work has been assembled into four stunning collections which are recognized and exhibited in museums nationally and around the world: United States, International, Florida, and National Parks. what we might lose if we do not protect our environment. Butcher is an ambassador to the arts and the environment, a diplomat of the remaining wild places and an emissary to the hearts and minds of Americans to protect our country s wild places. No one can view Butcher s remarkable work without being awestruck by the Everglades and its embodiment of nature herself. Jean-Michel Cousteau, explorer, environmentalist and award-winning filmmaker Butcher s spectacular and inspiring photographs of the remote and undisturbed wild places of Florida, his home state, are especially admired by other artists, critics, and collectors. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, creator of the documentary series, The National Parks: America s Best Idea, has called Butcher s work a national treasure. Butcher s photographs of the subtropical flora and fauna of the deepest recesses and vast unexplored expanses of the Big Cypress Swamp and Everglades of Florida areas rarely seen by anyone else are widely sought after throughout the world. President Jimmy Carter had the unique experience of exploring the Everglades with Butcher and called him the Ansel Adams of the 21st Century, citing Butcher s use of his art form to preserve the most sacred places and natural sanctuaries for future generations. His oversized dramatic images are a valued artistic expression of what we have, and RECOGNIZED Butcher has been invited to undertake projects for Everglades National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, and Wilderness Society, as well as other prominent environmental organizations. He has received many prestigious awards and been the subject of various news and PBS programs, including Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association, Ansel Adams Award from the Sierra Club, the Florida Artist Hall of Fame award, the highest honor presented to a private citizen, Distinguished Artist Award from the Florida House in D.C., Who will be the next Ansel Adams by Popular Photography Magazine, Top 100 Most Influential People in Florida by Florida Trend, ABC Person of the Week with Peter Jennings, and many other awards and publications.
Clyde Butcher represents what we hope all great artists of our country hold true in their work: the responsibility of communicating the goodness of our world through the arts. President Jimmy Carter
Technique Each dramatic landscape is the reward of patience, perseverance, and determination. Clyde will wait for hours until the light, clouds and composition come together. Carrying camera gear that weighs up to 60 pounds, he crosses difficult terrain; stand in chest-deep water for hours, and occasionally risks his life on steep mountain slopes. I feel the craft and mystery of working in a darkroom is becoming a lost art and before it is totally lost, I want to share with others why I find darkroom work so compelling. Clyde Butcher Using a variety of antique large format view cameras ranging in size from 4 x 5 to 12 x 20 he creates photographs up to 5' x 9' in size. The epic scale of his work lets you experience the location in a way t is almost like being there. Their large dimensions, combined with their strong sense of fluidity and movement, allow his work to transcend the static nature of the photographic medium. In this digital age Clyde is one of those rare photographers who still makes his photographs in the wet darkroom allowing him to express elaborate detail and textures that distinguish the intricacy of the landscape.
Artist Statement Wilderness, to me, is a spiritual necessity. When my son was killed by a drunken driver, it was to the wilderness that I fled in hopes of regaining my serenity and equilibrium. The mysterious spiritual experience of being close to nature helped restore my soul. It was during that time I discovered the intimate beauty of the environment. My experience reinforced my sense of dedication to use my art form, photography, to show people that there is a unity between all undisturbed natural places, whether a peak of a renowned mountain range or a stream-bed in an urban watershed. My hope is to educate... to let people know our land is a special place and to inspire others to work together to save nature s places of spiritual sanctuary for future generations. Clyde Butcher Fine Art Black & White Photography Venice Gallery & Studio Big Cypress Gallery, Everglades St. Armands Gallery, Sarasota 941.486.0811 clydebutcher.com