Bierstadt, Albert | A Western paradise sumptuously depicted

Bierstadt, Albert

The Rocky Mountains (Lander's Peak). London: Thomas McLean, 1869

Lithograph (sheet size: 457 x 794 mm). Printed in colors by Jacob Lutz, printed by Kell Brothers, mounted on board. 

In 1859, Bierstadt joined an expedition to the West led by Colonel Frederick W. Lander. This work was painted four years later in New York as a tribute to Lander, who died in 1862 after a distinguished military career. Bierstadt found it fitting to name the central summit in memory of his fallen friend.

The painting was a huge success, and was quickly bought by the English railroad magnate James McHenry for $25,000. The success of the work lies in the vastness of its conception; from the Shoshone encampment to the carefully rendered foliage in the foreground, the meadow leading to the gleaming lake, and beyond the magnificent snow-capped peak. Indeed, Bierstadt sought to overwhelm his audience with wonders and intrigue. The Western paradise depicted, in present-day Wyoming, immediately appealed to the imaginations of most Americans, who had only read about our untamed frontier. The painting today is in the Metropolitan Museum of American Art Collection.

REFERENCE

Anderson & Ferber, Albert Bierstadt Art & Enterprise 274-275 (no. 78, fig. 90)