Portrait of Albert Bierstadt

Albert Bierstadt Giclée Fine Art Prints 7 of 10

1830-1902

German (Active in America) Hudson River School Painter

Albert Bierstadt, born in 1830 in Solingen, Prussia, would come to embody a certain vision of the American wilderness - a place of awe, grandeur, and untapped potential. His early years, spent in the rather unremarkable whaling town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, seemed an unlikely prelude to his later role as one of the foremost painters of the American West. But Bierstadt’s story is one of unexpected transformation, and his artistic journey took him far beyond the confines of his modest beginnings.

Like many artists of his time, Bierstadt sought formal training in Europe. In 1853, he traveled to the city of Dusseldorf, hoping to apprentice under Johann Peter Hasenclever, a fellow Prussian artist. But upon his arrival, Bierstadt discovered that Hasenclever had passed away, a cruel twist of fate for a young artist searching for guidance. He found, instead, the support of two American expatriates, Emanuel Leutze and Worthington Whittredge. These formative years in Europe shaped Bierstadt’s approach, refining his technical abilities and introducing him to a more academic style of painting.

When he returned to America in 1857, Bierstadt was not yet the name he would soon become. But his work, already showcasing the precision and clarity of European training, began to attract attention. It wasn’t until he ventured west, however, that his real breakthrough came. In 1859, Bierstadt joined an expedition to the Rocky Mountains - a journey that would profoundly alter his trajectory as an artist. The American frontier, largely unseen by the eastern populace, offered a subject matter of unparalleled majesty. Bierstadt, with his grand, sweeping canvases, would become its premier chronicler.

His work from this period, particularly the iconic "The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak," elevated Bierstadt to the forefront of American landscape painting. These massive compositions weren’t mere depictions of nature; they were celebrations of a vast, unspoiled land. Bierstadt’s skill lay not just in technical prowess, but in his ability to convey an emotional depth, an almost spiritual reverence for the untamed wilderness. His landscapes became synonymous with a sense of national identity - a romanticized West that promised opportunity and renewal.

Despite his early successes, Bierstadt’s fortunes began to wane in the later decades of the 19th century. Critics accused him of indulging in spectacle, of producing landscapes too theatrical, too sensational. The intimate and nuanced had fallen out of favor, replaced by a growing appreciation for realism and the quieter rhythms of life. Bierstadt’s monumental visions were seen as relics of a fading age, out of touch with the more grounded artistic movements gaining traction.

By the time of his death in 1902, Bierstadt’s work had largely been forgotten. It was only in the 1960s, with a renewed interest in American landscape painting, that his contributions were reevaluated. In particular, his small oil sketches, which had once served as studies for his larger works, gained recognition for their spontaneity and freshness. These more intimate pieces revealed a lighter touch, a contrast to the towering canvases that had once made him famous.

Bierstadt’s legacy is a complex one. His name may not always be mentioned alongside the giants of American art, but his vision of the West - expansive, mythic, almost otherworldly - endures. Through his art, Bierstadt offered a glimpse into a landscape that was at once real and imagined, a dream of a wilderness both wild and boundless.

218 Bierstadt Artworks

Page 7 of 10
California Redwoods, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 5024-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:76.5 x 51 cm
Private Collection

Tropical Coast, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 5030-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:unknown
Private Collection

Palm Tree, Nassau, 1892 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12103-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:48 x 35.3 cm
Private Collection

Scene near Estes Park, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12171-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:48.2 x 33 cm
Private Collection

The Buffalo Trail, 1869 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 4963-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:81 x 122 cm
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA

Yosemite Valley, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12122-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:unknown
Private Collection

Niagara, c.1869 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$82.64
SKU: 12192-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:48.2 x 68.6 cm
Public Collection

Sundown at Yosemite, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 5019-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:30.5 x 40.6 cm
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain

Forest Sunrise, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12124-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:82.6 x 122.4 cm
Private Collection

View of Donner Lake, California, c.1871/72 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$55.81
SKU: 4989-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:74.3 x 55.6 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA

The Falls of St. Anthony, c.1880/87 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 5708-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:96.8 x 153.7 cm
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain

The Last of the Buffalo (Sketch), c.1888 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12054-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:37.4 x 48.2 cm
Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Wyoming, USA

Coastal Scene, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12100-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:35.4 x 48.9 cm
Private Collection

Autumn Landscape, New England, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12164-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:48.3 x 68.6 cm
Private Collection

Echo Lake, Franconia Mountains, New Hampshire, 1861 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12195-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:64.1 x 99.3 cm
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, USA

Alaska (Boats of the Far North), 1864 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 17036-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:35.6 x 45.7 cm
Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, USA

A Lake in the Sierra Nevada, 1867 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$55.12
SKU: 17304-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:55.5 x 76.2 cm
Private Collection

Niagara Falls, 1869 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 4985-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:36.2 x 48.9 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA

Indians in Council, California, c.1872 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$54.02
SKU: 5017-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:40.4 x 55.5 cm
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, USA

Rockland County, California, c.1872 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 12151-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:48.3 x 67.3 cm
Private Collection

Alaska, 1889 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$49.88
SKU: 19322-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:35.5 x 50.8 cm
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana, USA

Indians Hunting Buffalo, c.1888 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$51.95
SKU: 4998-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:62.9 x 91.1 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA

Moat Mountain, Intervale, New Hampshire, c.1862 by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$55.53
SKU: 5009-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:48.3 x 66 cm
Currier Museum of Art, New Hampshire, USA

Yosemite Valley, n.d. by Bierstadt | Canvas Print
Giclée Canvas Print
$51.55
SKU: 12130-BAL
Albert Bierstadt
Original Size:40.6 x 50.8 cm
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, USA

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