Masa’s Mountains: A New Exhibit Explores the Work and Legacy of Photographer George Masa

A brand new touring exhibit from Buncombe County Public Libraries and Buncombe County Special Collections opens Saturday, Oct. 4 on the Mountain Gateway Museum. “Masa’s Mountains” examines the life, work, and legacy of photographer George Masa. The exhibit runs by the tip of January 2026. The Mountain Gateway Museum is a part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

George Masa, born Masahara Izuka, constructed a legacy of beautiful pictures capturing the pure great thing about Western North Carolina and the lives of its individuals all through the Nineteen Twenties and 30s.

Masa was born in Osaka, Japan on Jan. 20, 1881, and immigrated to the United States in 1901. In 1915, he moved to Asheville, N.C., the place he constructed a profession as a photographer and deep relationships with native individuals and the land. Not solely did his pictures doc a dramatic interval of change in Western North Carolina, his tireless work alongside his shut pal, author and conservationist Horace Kephart, was key to establishing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and parts of the Appalachian Trail.

“Masa’s Mountains” incorporates a assortment of 16 reprints of George Masa’s pictures from Buncombe County Special Collections. It additionally contains an assortment of copy postcards constructed from Masa’s pictures, and commercials for digicam and gear just like his, courtesy of the Mountain Heritage Center and Hunter Library at Western Carolina University.

For extra details about this exhibit, go to the Mountain Gateway Museum’s web site at www.mgmnc.org or contact Jesse Bricker at (828) 619-5100 or jesse.bricker@dncr.nc.gov.

The museum is open year-round from 9 a.m. to five p.m. Tuesday by Saturday. It is closed on Sundays, Mondays, and state holidays. Admission is free.

About Mountain Gateway Museum
A regional department of the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, the Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center (MGM) is the westernmost facility within the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources’ Division of State History Museums.

Nestled on the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains alongside the banks of historic Mill Creek in downtown Old Fort (McDowell County), the museum makes use of artifacts, exhibitions, academic applications, dwelling historical past demonstrations, and particular occasions to show individuals concerning the wealthy historical past and cultural heritage of the state’s mountain area, from its unique inhabitants by early settlement and into the twentieth century.

As a part of its training outreach mission, MGM additionally assists nonprofit museums and historic websites in 38 western NC counties with exhibit growth & fabrication, genealogical analysis, pictures archives, touring exhibitions, and consultations. For extra data, go to the museum’s web site: www.mgmnc.org or name 828-619-5100.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the issues that folks love about North Carolina – its numerous arts and tradition, wealthy historical past, and spectacular pure areas. Through its applications, the division enhances training, stimulates financial growth, improves public well being, expands accessibility, and strengthens group resiliency.

The division manages over 100 areas throughout the state, together with 27 historic websites, seven historical past museums, two artwork museums, 5 science museums, 4 aquariums, 35 state parks, 4 recreation areas, dozens of state trails and pure areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For extra data, please go to www.dncr.nc.gov.