A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California
Exhibit Opening: Thursday, March 6, 2013

Old Tulare Lake under the Sierra by Laura Cunningham, 2006
Old Tulare Lake under the Sierra by Laura Cunningham, 2006
Merced County Courthouse Museum will open a new exhibit entitled, “A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California,” on Thursday, March 6. This exhibit is based on Laura Cunningham’s book of the same title published by the Heyday Books. It presents California’s landscape as it appeared 500 years ago. To achieve this, ecologist and artist Laura Cunningham, after her extensive research, uses her striking paintings of the past and vivid photographs of the present to show California’s transformed landscapes. At the opening reception, Cunningham will give a PowerPoint presentation at 6:00 p.m. and will be available for book signing. The event is free to the public.





















Southern California Grizzly in the foothills above the San Fernando Valley 500 years ago by Laura Cunningham, 2005
Maggie Howard




The foothills above the San Fernando Valley 500 years later (photo courtesy of Laura Cunningham)
Maggie Howard