Probably the most influential and popular Swiss landscape painter of the 19th century, Alexandre Calame (1810-1864) is renowned for his grand Alpine views. Painted with dramatic effects of light and atmosphere, these paintings were based on sharply observed details taken from close natural study and depict recognizable locations. Calame visited France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and England, making outdoor oil sketches from which he then created finished paintings in his studio. Calame first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1835, and his works appealed to the growing number of Alpine tourists and were purchased by King Louis-Philippe and Napoleon. This handsome book focuses on Calame’s oil sketches--many of which have never been published in color--in addition to several paintings and related drawings and prints. With essays that discuss Calame's landscapes in the context of 19th-century trends in European art and culture, it also features works by Swiss artists Fran�ois Diday, Barth�lemy Menn, and Robert Z�nd.

Century of Northwest wilderness skiing stories by noted expert 150 black-and-white and color photographs Celebrates the friluftsliv, or open-air living spirit, of backcountry skiing In Written in the Snows, renowned local skiing historian Lowell Skoog presents a definitive and visually rich history of the past century of Northwest ski culture, from stirring and colorful stories of wilderness exploration to the evolution of gear and technique. He traces the development of skiing in Washington from the late 1800s to the present, covering the beginnings of ski resorts and competitions, the importance of wild places in the Olympic and Cascade mountains (including Oregon's Mount Hood), and the friluftsliv, or open-air living spirit, of backcountry skiing. Skoog addresses how skiing has been shaped by larger social trends, including immigration, the Great Depression, war, economic growth, conservation, and the media. In turn, Northwest skiers have affected their region in ways that transcend the sport, producing local legends like Milnor Roberts, Olga Bolstad, Hans Otto Giese, Bill Maxwell, and more. While weaving his own impressions and experiences into the larger history, Skoog shows that skiing is far more than mere sport or recreation.