Albert Bierstadt, American landscape painter, born (1830)

In the mid-1800s, the American west was a distant wilderness to most people.  Americans, and the rest of the world, saw the landscape mostly through the works of artists who accompanied survey expeditions.  Their often monumental and romanticized paintings fired the imagination of an “American Eden.”  Perhaps the most famous of these artists, both at the time and still today, is Albert Bierstadt.

Albert Bierstadt (photo by Napolean Sarony)

Albert Bierstadt was born on January 7, 1830 (died 1902), in Prussian Germany.  His parents emigrated to New Bedford, Massachusetts, when Albert was just two years old.  His father built barrels for the whaling industry, providing a comfortable childhood for Albert and his two brothers.

The boy was a natural artist, constantly sketching what he saw around him in the New England landscape.  Little is known about his early life, but his skill at drawing led him to become an art teacher at age 20.  Then, in 1853, he traveled to Germany, studying with experienced artists and sketching across Germany, Switzerland, and Italy for four years.  He matured as an artist, demonstrating exceptional talent at representing the vertical landscapes of the Alps.

Once back in New Bedford, he began to exhibit his European work, gaining recognition for his luminous use of light and color that produced serene and gentle landscapes.  He traveled throughout New England, and like other artists of the Hudson River School, he painted highly evocative and idealized American landscapes.

Bierstadt, however, along with others including Thomas Moran, became enthralled by the landscape of the American West.  During 1857-1859, he took two trips, making countless sketches and experimenting with the new field of photography.  He travels convinced him that the American West “has the best material for the artist in the world.”  He took a studio in New York City and, using the sketches from his travels, began painting the large canvases for which he became famous.  He used the techniques he honed painting in the Alps to produce mystical scenes based on recognizable landscapes but modified to evoke tranquility and majesty.

Looking Up kThe Yosemite Valley, by Albert Bierstadt (Haggin Museum)

For the next several decades, Bierstadt took his place as one of the nation’s most revered landscape artists.  His monumental canvases graced the U.S. capitol and the finest galleries across the nation (where they can still be seen today).  He emphasized the grandeur of the natural environment, generally minimizing the presence of the human-built world. The popularity of his work is often credited with energizing the drive to protect western landscapes as national parks.  He was also appalled by the destruction of American bison and other species.  “The continual slaughter of native species,” he said, “must be halted before all is lost.”

In his later years, he spent parts of every year in the Bahamas, where his wife had moved for medical reasons.  His paintings of tropical environments are generally considered of equal quality to those he painted of the American West.

Bierstadt’s painting, The Last of the Buffalo, illustrated his dismay at the overharvest of American bison (Corcoran Gallery of Art)

Bierstadt’s popularity fell as the 20th Century approached, with critics dismissing his large canvases as overly sentimental.  His reputation revived in the 1960s as the environmental movement renewed Americans interest in the need for protecting our great natural resources. Today his works occupy a prominent position as symbols of the majesty of the western landscape.  As he said,“Truly all is remarkable and a wellspring of amazement and wonder.  Man is so fortunate to dwell in this American Garden of Eden.”

References:

Albertbierstadt.org.  Albert Bierstadt Biography in Details.  Available at:  https://www.albertbierstadt.org/biography.html.  Accessed January 5, 2023.

National Gallery of Art.  Albert Bierstadt.  Available at:  https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.6707.html.  Accessed January 5, 2023.

The Art Story.  Albert Bierstadt.  Available at:  https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bierstadt-albert/.  Accessed January 5, 2023.

This Month in Conservation

March 1
Yellowstone National Park Established (1872)
March 2
Theodore Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, Born (1904)
March 3
World Wildlife Day and Creation of CITES (1973)
March 3
Isle Royale National Park Authorized (1931)
March 4
Hot Springs National Park Established (1921)
March 5
Lynn Margulis, Evolutionary Biologist, Born (1938)
March 6
Martha Burton Williamson, Pioneering Malacologist, Born (1843)
March 7
Luther Burbank Born (1849)
March 8
Everett Horton Patents the Telescoping Fishing Rod (1887)
March 9
The Turbot War Begins (1995)
March 10
Cape Lookout National Seashore Established (1966)
March 11
Save the Redwoods League Founded (1918)
March 12
Girl Scouts Founded (1912)
March 12
Charles Young, First African American National Park Superintendent, Born (1864)
March 13
National Elephant Day, Thailand
March 14
First National Wildlife Refuge Created (1903)
March 15
Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, Born (1874)
March 16
Amoco Cadiz Runs Aground (1978)
March 17
St. Patrick and Ireland’s Snakes
March 18
Nation’s First Wildlife Refuge Created (1870)
March 19
When the Swallows Return to Capistrano
March 20
“Our Common Future” Published (1987)
March 21
International Day of Forests
March 22
World Water Day
March 23
Sitka National Historical Park Created (1910)
March 24
John Wesley Powell, Western Explorer, Born (1834)
March 25
Norman Borlaug, Father of the Green Revolution, Born (1914)
March 26
Marjorie Harris Carr, Pioneering Florida Conservationist, Born (1915)
March 26
Kruger National Park Established (1898)
March 27
Trans-Alaska Pipeline Begun (1975)
March 28
Joseph Bazalgette, London’s Sewer King, Born (1819)
March 29
Niagara Falls Stops Flowing (1848)
March 30
The United States Buys Alaska (1867)
March 31
Al Gore, Environmental Activist and U.S. Vice President, Born (1948)
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