Bierstadt, << BEER stat >> Albert (1830-1902), was one of the greatest American romantic landscape painters. He first viewed the scenic grandeur of the American West in 1859, while traveling with a surveying expedition. He made on-the-spot sketches and took photographs that he later developed into large panoramas of Western mountains. Loosely based on his sketches and photos, his paintings expressed the grandeur of the landscape, emphasized by his use of dramatic lighting. Bierstadt received $25,000 for one painting, the highest price paid for an American painting at that time. His reputation declined, however, late in his career. Today, his paintings, especially those on a smaller and more controlled scale, are popular because of a new interest in the romantic movement of the 1800’s.
Bierstadt was born on June 30, 1830, in Solingen, Germany. He was brought to New Bedford, Massachusetts, as a baby. He died on Feb. 18, 1902.
