Among the Sierra Nevada, California

Albert Bierstadt, Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Helen Huntington Hull, granddaughter of William Brown Dinsmore, who acquired the painting in 1873 for "The Locusts," the family estate in Dutchess County, New York, 1977.107.1
Albert Bierstadt, Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, oil on canvas, overall: 72120 18 in. (183305 cm) frame: 96 14144 387 14 in. (244.5366.718.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Helen Huntington Hull, granddaughter of William Brown Dinsmore, who acquired the painting in 1873 for The Locusts,” the family estate in Dutchess County, New York, 1977.107.1
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Among the Sierra Nevada, California
Date
1868
Dimensions
overall: 72120 18 in. (183305 cm) frame: 96 14144 387 14 in. (244.5366.718.4 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Helen Huntington Hull, granddaughter of William Brown Dinsmore, who acquired the painting in 1873 for The Locusts,” the family estate in Dutchess County, New York
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Landscape — waterfall
  • Animal — deer
  • Landscape — lake
  • Animal — bird — duck
  • Landscape — California
  • Landscape — mountain — Sierra Nevada Mountains
Object Number
1977.107.1

Artwork Description

Albert Bierstadt's beautifully crafted paintings played to a hot market in the 1860s for spectacular views of the nation's frontiers. Bierstadt was an immigrant and hardworking entrepreneur who had grown rich pairing his skill as a painter with a talent for self-promotion. He unveiled his canvases as theatrical events, selling tickets and planting news stories—strategies that one critic described as the "vast machinery of advertisement and puffery." A Bierstadt canvas was elaborately framed, installed in a darkened room, and hidden behind luxurious drapes. At the appointed time, the work was revealed to thunderous applause.

This painting was made in London and toured through Europe to St. Petersburg, fueling Europeans' interest in emigration. Buoyed by glowing reviews, Bierstadt then offered the painting to American audiences who could take pride in an American artist's skill and in the natural splendors of their young nation.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006



Works by this artist (2 items)

Jenny Holzer, For SAAM, 2007, electronic LED array with white diodes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2008.3, © 2007, Jenny Holzer/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
For SAAM
Date2007
electronic LED array with white diodes
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Crystal City, 2009, mixed media installation, including glass, crystal, silver, plastic, and ceramic objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Henry R. Muñoz III in honor of Debra Guerrero, 2013.48.1, © 2009, Franco Mondini-Ruiz
Crystal City
Date2009
mixed media installation, including glass, crystal, silver, plastic, and ceramic objects
Not on view
David Esterly, Thomas Jefferson's Letter Rack, 2017, limewood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the collection of Candace and Michael Humphreys, 2023.55
Thomas Jefferson’s Letter Rack
Date2017
limewood
Not on view