EDGAR PAYNE (1883-1947)
Mount Lyell (3, 999m - 13, 120ft)
United States of America (California)
In Sierra Nevada, Oil on canvas, Private collection
The mountain
Mount Lyell (3, 999m - 13, 120ft) is the highest point in Yosemite National Park. It is located at the southeast end of the Cathedral Range, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) northwest of Rodgers Peak. The peak as well as nearby Lyell Canyon is named after Charles Lyell, a well-known 19th century geologist. The peak had one of the last remaining glaciers in Yosemite, Lyell Glacier. The Lyell Glacier is currently considered to be a permanent ice field, not a living glacier. Mount Lyell divides the Tuolumne River watershed to the north, the Merced to the west, and the Rush Creek drainage in the Mono Lake Basin to the southeast.
The closest and most popular trailhead is at Tuolumne Meadows, off US120. Just east of the Tuolumne Meadows campground, there is a turnoff for the Tuolumne Lodge and Wilderness Permits. Pass the large lot for Wilderness permits (unless you need to get one!), and drive past the Ranger Station on the left side of the road. Before you reach the Tuolumne Lodge, there is a large parking lot on the left side. There are bear boxes there that you can leave food items that you do not take with you. Use them! Bears are rampant in these parts and will happily destroy your car to get a meal.
The trailhead is on the south side of the road, opposite the parking lot.
Alternatively, you can approach Mt. Lyell from the east via Rush Creek at Silver Lake Resort (near June Mtn Ski area) or Agnews Meadow near Mammoth Lakes (this is the longer of the two). Take the JMT to Donohue Pass to reach the Lyell Fork drainage. From a map it may be enticing to try approaching from the east via Marie Lakes instead of Donohue Pass, but be warned this is a class 4 route, and will certainly take longer. These routes are longer than approaching from Tuolumne Meadows and require more elevation gain.
Climbing is usually done May-Oct when the Tioga Road (US120) through Tuolumne Meadows is open. After Oct 15 the road is sometimes open, but overnight parking is no longer permitted.
The painter
Edgar Alwin Payne was an American Western landscape painter and muralist. He made his way to California for the first time in 1909, at the age of 26. He spent several months painting at Laguna Beach, then headed to San Francisco. In San Francisco he met other artists, including commercial artist Elsie Palmer (1884–1971). On November 1912, Edgar married Elsie Palmer. As a couple they became well known in Chicago's art circle. Between 1915 and 1918-19, Edgar maintained a professional address in Chicago at the Tree Studio Building on East Ohio Street.
He earned his first major commission in 1917. In a bid to attract tourism, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad asked him to paint the Southwest, along the railroads' trek from Albuquerque to California. This commission not only solidified his reputation as an artist, it also forever linked him to Western America. Although he painted in Europe, he is most remembered for his work from the Four Corners area of the Navajo Nation Reservation, Yosemite, and the California coast. This area, from Taos, New Mexico to the Grand Canyon, became one of Payne's two main inspirations for the next twenty years.The Santa Fe Railroad commissions were the turn of the century brainchild of William H. Simpson, chief of the railway's advertising department. Starting in 1892, with Thomas Moran, Simpson exchanged travel on the train, along with lodging at railroad hotels and meals at railroad restaurants, and sometimes even cash, for paintings, photographs, pottery, and jewelry. This endeavor lasted for decades and made the Santa Fe one of the largest collectors of southwestern fine art.
His lifelong obsession with the Sierras would lead him to produce a documentary film, “Sierra Journey”. In 1941 he wrote "Composition of Outdoor Painting", a comprehensive book on composition and composition forms. The book also explains landscape painting techniques, color, repetition, rhythm, and value. The seventh edition printing of the work was completed in 2005.
