Exhibit honors well-known Great Smoky Mountains National Park photographer Masa

CHEROKEE, N.C. (WLOS) — A free exhibit honoring the lifetime of famed photographer George Masa shall be on show via Oct. 1 on the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Cherokee.

Born in Japan in 1885, Masa arrived in Asheville in 1915 and died there in 1933. During that span, he explored the Southern Appalachian mountains and had a ardour for the Great Smoky Mountains, based on a July 9 information launch.

His photographs had been instrumental within the efforts to determine Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the discharge stated. A yr after his demise, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established.

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The exhibit was a collaboration with the park, Smokies Life and Masa’s biographers, the discharge stated. A number of the knowledge within the exhibit pulls from analysis from the article “George Masa: A Life Reimagined” that was printed within the 2024 version of Smokies Life.

In addition to his photographs of the park and the Appalachian Trail, there are additionally photographs of Masa, together with letters, journal entries, practice tickets and public data scattered from Japan to the Great Smoky Mountains. These carry into focus the non-public struggles and triumphs of a curious, passionate man who performed an unlimited position in the way forward for the park in addition to components of the Appalachian Trail, the discharge stated.

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In conjunction with the exhibit, guests obtain 10% off in-stock Masa gadgets, together with George Masa: A Life Reimagined, plus different Masa-themed merchandise.

The Oconaluftee Visitors Center is positioned at 1194 Newfound Gap Rd. in Cherokee and is open every day from 9 a.m. to five p.m. More data is out there on the National Park Service website.