Born in Solingen, Germany on January 7, 1830, Albert Bierstadt immigrated to the United States with his parents as a small child, settling in Massachusetts. Always enterprising, he gave art lessons before he really had any formal schooling, and eventually was able to earn enough money to truly study art back in his native Germany in Düsseldorf. His subsequent travels through Europe capturing scenes from the Alps and Italy helped Bierstadt broaden his skills in outdoor or plein air drawing and painting. Ultimately, he would become associated with the New York Hudson River School group of artists.
Heading West
By 1857 Bierstadt was back in the United States, and by 1859 he had joined a government-funded expedition heading west to the Rocky Mountains. The vast splendor of this region greatly inspired Bierstadt, and he began to focus his energies on capturing the full breadth of what he saw. He would return to the West many times, venturing further to Yosemite and California, and generally using a method of making initial plein air sketches while at a specific scene, then expanding the sketches into paintings when back at his New York studio.
Bierstadt liked to use very large canvases for most of his Western paintings and was fond of lush, romantic effects. His artistic peers often looked down upon these huge efforts and regarded them as overblown, and they also generally did not approve of Bierstadt’s flair for marketing himself and his work. The prevailing attitude among many fine artists of the day was to avoid commercialism and not be excessively self-promoting.
Manifest Destiny
Many Americans did appreciate Bierstadt’s Western scenes, however, and felt the paintings symbolized the then-popular concept of Manifest Destiny, or the presumed right of the American people to explore and acquire all territories leading to the Pacific Ocean. Additionally, Bierstadt’s fame spread beyond the United States to Europe, with Great Britain in particular being caught up in a “Bierstadt craze.”
To his credit, Bierstadt tended to focus on more of an appreciation for the pristine beauty of the West and not a gung-ho arrogance. He even showed concern for the relentless slaughter of the buffalo by westward travelers and its effect on the American Indian in his 1888 painting The Last of the Buffalo.
Later Years and Legacy
Bierstadt’s work sold for impressive sums during the height of his career and he was able to build a palatial house for his family along New York’s Hudson River, but eventually he began to experience a reversal of fortune. He lost his beloved home in a fire, his money dwindled, while his epic Western panoramas waned in popularity. Bierstadt died in 1902, just two years after the close of the century that had brought him such fame.
Relatively forgotten for decades, the 1940s brought a revival of interest in Bierstadt that appears to be continuing on to the present day. The United States Post Office has issued two stamp series depicting Bierstadt’s paintings, most recently in August of 2008, and his works can be seen in many American museums. Furthermore, Mount Bierstadt was named for the artist. First ascended in 1863 by Bierstadt himself, it is one of Colorado’s “fourteeners” or mountains with peaks over 14,000 feet – a fitting tribute to a man who reached such great personal heights and who always loved a good view.
Sources
Albert Bierstadt – Answers.com
For Bierstadt’s Eyes Alone – Mary Terence McKay, Traditional Fine Arts Organization Inc.
 |
 |
 |
