In the Rocky Mountains

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) became famous for bringing the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains to the people of Victorian America. Born in Dusseldorf, Germany, Bierstadt spent his childhood in New Bedford, Massachusetts, then traveled to Europe to study in Germany and Rome. He returned to the States and in 1859 accompanied a government-sponsored mapmaking exhibition to the Rocky Mountains. He made many oil sketches such as this en plein air, and he later used these studies to construct massive, epic panoramic canvases in his studio. Although his large studio works have been sometimes criticized for their theatrical effects, his smaller paintings, full of sunlight and color, come closest to capturing the beauty of the American West at the opening of the frontier.