Object Details
Artist
Albert Bierstadt, born Solingen, Germany 1830-died New York City 1902
Luce Center Label
Albert Bierstadt spent two years in California in the early 1870s, sketching the landscape of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. He was fascinated by the Native Americans he encountered on his journeys and made many sketches of their dwellings, dress, and weapons, including this painting of a group of Indian leaders. He felt that the Native American way of life was “rapidly passing away,” and that it was his duty “to tell his portion of their history.” (Letter from the artist, July 10, 1859, The Crayon, quoted in Anderson and Ferber, Albert Bierstadt: Art and Enterprise, 1990)
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marvin J. and Shirley F. Sonosky in memory of Harryette Cohn
Date
ca. 1872
Object number
1998.148
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on paper on canvas
Dimensions
15 7/8 x 21 7/8 in. (40.4 x 55.5 cm.)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Figure group
Landscape\California
Indian
Ceremony\Indian\council
Architecture Exterior\domestic\teepee
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1998.148