Albert Bierstadt

Born: 1830 | Died: 1902

Painter of the West

Albert Bierstadt was born in 1830 in Solingen in western Germany. His family emigrated to Massachusetts in 1833 and eventually settled in New Bedford. Little is known about Bierstadt’s rearing or early artistic training before he started advertising himself as an instructor in monochromatic painting in New Bedford in 1850.

In 1853, Bierstadt returned to Europe to study at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in Germany and to travel extensively on the Continent. On his return to New Bedford, he quickly became the city's most prominent artist, organizing in 1858 a large exhibition of paintings - including fifteen of his own works - that brought him to national attention.

In 1859 an excursion to the American West would change the style and format of his paintings. His large-scale landscapes made him the quintessential painter of “The West”. Bierstadt's work emphasized atmospheric elements such as fog, clouds and mist, elements that are reminiscent of German Romanticism. Bierstadt died in 1902 and Mount Bierstadt in Colorado was named for him.

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