German-born American artist Albert Bierstadt (1830 - 1902) was best known for his paintings of the American West.
A member of the mid 19th-century American art movement known as the Hudson River School, he focused on romantic landscapes.
Traveling westward with land surveyors and authors, he captured sketches to develop into large-scale paintings back at his New York studio.
In the 1860's he became a member of the much-vaunted National Academy—an honorary association of American artists. He received medals as he traveled extensively in Europe and even had a private reception with Queen Victoria.
Demand for his work was so high that by 1865 his paintings were fetching $10,000 - $25,000 (worth approx $280,000 - $700,000 today)
When in 1872, his drawings of Yellowstone convinced Congress to pass the Yellowstone Park Bill, he was firmly established as the preeminent painter of the American West.
Bierstadt used light to glorify the romance of sweeping landscapes, depicting the untamed West as a land full of promise, of Manifest Destiny, and the American Dream.
Lake in the Sierra Nevada by Albert Bierstadt, 1867Looking Up the Yosemite Valley by Albert Bierstadt, 1867Merced River, California by , (1830 - 1902)Old Faithful by Albert Bierstadt, (1830 - 1902)Oregon Trail by Albert Bierstadt (1830 - 1902)Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast by Albert Bierstadt, 1870Rocky Mountain Landscape by Albert Bierstadt, 1870Sierra Nevada by Albert Bierstadt, 1873Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mount Rosalie by Albert Bierstadt - 1866Sunset over the River by Albert Bierstadt , (1830 - 1902)The Campfire by Albert Bierstadt , (1830 - 1902)The Falls of St. Anthony by Albert Bierstadt c.1887The Golden Gate by Albert Bierstadt, 1900The Kern River Valley (Sequoia National Park, California) by Albert Bierstadt, 1871The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak by Albert Bierstadt, 1863Valley in Kings Canyon by Albert Bierstadt (1830 - 1902)Valley of the Yosemite by Albert Bierstadt, 1864Western Landscape by Albert Bierstadt, (1830 - 1902)Whyte's Lake, Estes Park, Colorado by Albert Bierstadt, 1877Yellowstone Falls by Albert Bierstadt, 1881Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California by Albert Bierstadt, 1868California Coast by Albert Bierstadt, (1830 - 1902)California Spring by Albert Bierstadt, 1875Cho-looke, the Yosemite Fall by Albert Bierstadt, 1864Emigrants Crossing the Plains by Albert Bierstadt, 1869Estes Park, Colorado by Albert Bierstadt, 1869Gates of Yosemite by Albert Bierstadt c.1882Geysers in Yellowstone by Albert Bierstadt, 1881Indian Canoe by Albert Bierstadt, 1886Indians spear fishing by Albert Bierstadt, 1862
