Chiura Obata’s Lake Basin in the High Sierra, inspired by the artist’s 1927 trip to the High Sierra, depicts a lake in a valley beneath Johnson Peak, south of Tuolumne Meadows. Describing the scene, Obata recalled, “Countless streams run down the frozen mountainside, lending a sublime melody. Man’s very soul and body seem to melt away into the singular silence and tranquility of the surrounding air.”

Although Obata’s composition was inspired by a specific site, the generic title reveals his intention to fuse experience and imagination: “Just to imitate an object or some part of nature is not enough, because such an imitative idea without the creative soul cannot bring forth any beauty or humanity.” Omitting any human presence, Obata offers a direct encounter and communion with nature, a vision grounded in the Buddhist philosophy that accepts the insignificance of human affairs in relation to the timeless forces of nature.