The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical...

The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Yosemite National Park with two exhibits that explore the history of Yosemite and the variety of artistic efforts to interpret its beauty.

“Yosemite National Park: A Centennial Celebration” is in the Library Exhibition Hall through Sept. 23.

The exhibit traces the evolution of Yosemite’s allure for tourists, drawing upon such material as original diaries and letters written by visitors. Also featured are photographs--such as Carleton Watkins’ 1878 shot of Leidig’s Hotel at the foot of Sentinel Rock, left--travel accounts, guidebooks and illustrated brochures and pamphlets promoting tourism.

The exhibit also demonstrates the use of familiar images from Yosemite in tourist literature, trade cards, posters, menus and citrus crate labels, such as Bridal Veil brand, above.

“Celebrating Yosemite: Visual Interpretations of a Wilderness Region” is in the Virginia Steele Scott Gallery through Sept. 2.

It highlights drawings, prints and photographs of Yosemite, tracing changing aesthetic responses to the park from the 1850s--when artists first exalted the grandeur of the region’s geological structures--through the 1930s, when artists turned their attention to the complex ecological relationships that make Yosemite environmentally unique.

A talk on the exhibits will be given by Peter Blodgett, assistant curator of Western American History, at 1 p.m. today in the Overseers’ Room.

The Huntington, at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, is open from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. A $2 donation is requested.