“Meet the Ranger Naturalist”: New Deal–Era Interpretation and National Park Service Posters

Westenburg, Nadia

This article examines screenprint posters produced by the National Park Service (NPS) in 1938–41, contextualizing the series within the agency’s institutional developments during the New Deal era. The posters represented a pivotal period for the NPS and helped it define its intended purpose and audience in the modern era. Many of the designs specifically advertised the free “ranger naturalist service” at the precise historical moment when this service—largely funded by relief programs and the precursor to the NPS’s modern Interpretation and Education program—was in its nascency. The posters were designed and printed in small batches by artists at the NPS’s Western Museum Laboratories, primarily funded through the Works Progress Administration and other relief programs. These artists employed a progressive style and technique—the handmade screenprint—lending the posters a modern and bespoke quality rarely seen in government products. The adoption of this medium and the posters’ notably abstracted designs underscored the NPS’s intention to modernize its visual culture and remain relevant to a contemporary American public. Using Bandelier and Yellowstone posters as case studies, this paper also demonstrates how iconic images of specific park features were translated across media, shaping a repertoire of snapshots and views that came to represent each park. The posters successfully rendered these iconic views in a modern and visually appealing graphic style, resonating with both New Deal–era parkgoers and present-day visitors, evident in the enduring popularity of contemporary reproductions and imitations of these designs.