200 Years of Lake Tahoe Art in Reno

     So, you want to see what the lake looked like some years ago.  One can appreciate a little local history.  After the "European" discovery of the alpine lake that had been the seasonal summer home of indigenous Americans for a thousand years or more, word spread that it had incredible scenery.
     Soon, artists arrived along with surveyors, engineers, miners, and pioneers.   Once on the map, it was hard to keep folks from coming into the basin for a look see.  When the Comstock Load was discovered in Nevada, the boom began as mining engineers needed heavy timbers to shore up the shafts of the countless mines being opened around Virginia City.  When the vein of silver ran out, and the forests had been clear cut, the lake was forgotten by all but a few.  One of the few was Duane L. Bliss.
     He had the foresight to see the lake as a place that visitors would love to see and appreciate.  He developed various entities including Tahoe Tavern, Tahoe-Truckee Railroad, and the Tahoe Boat Company to deliver guests around the lake.
     By the end of the Civil War, Lake Bigler was a draw.  Famous landscape painters came to look and sketch, and take their impressions back to their studios to complete commissions and other artisitc endeavors.  Among the painters were some early photographers who carried their bulky apparatus to the basin to isolate classic features of the rim and lake shore with its crystalline water.
      The Nevada Museum of Art opened a temporary exhibition of samples of the best artistic efforts over the past 200 years.  Big names are included:  Albert Bierstadt, William Keith, Ansel Adams, Thomas Hill, Maynard Dixon, and Maya Lin to name a few.
      Pioneer John C. Fremont made maps and drawings around the west; many included the area around the lake.  As an added bonus, one can find some of the finest examples of Washoe basket making and basket art.  Included are the finest known examples of one woman whose work was widely recognized and collected during her lifetime.
     Architect Frank Lloyd Wright has some examples of his ideas and designs for a development at Emerald Bay called the Summer Colony.  It included a bridge/pier to Fanning Island; houseboats or barges floating in the lake near the bridge, and cabins of unique design on the slopes leading down to the water's edge.  It was never realized but the design concept is fascinating.
This exhibition receives a full 5 stars.  It will continue until the end of the year.  The catalog is beautifully done and is available for sale in the book store.