Sunrise in the Sierras

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Object Details

Artist

Albert Bierstadt, born Solingen, Germany 1830-died New York City 1902

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In 1872, Albert Bierstadt traveled deep into Kings River canyon in the South Sierra Nevada with the geologist Clarence King. He created many paintings on this trip, believing that people back East would be fascinated by images of the distant western states. In Sunrise in the Sierras the sunlight bouncing off the tips of the mountains emphasizes the vivid color of the rock against the dark, unfinished foreground. (Anderson and Ferber, Albert Bierstadt: Art and Enterprise, 1990)

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orrin Wickersham June

Date

ca. 1872

Object number

1967.136.8

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Painting

Medium

oil on paper mounted on paperboard

Dimensions

13 1/2 x 18 7/8 in. (34.3 x 47.9 cm.)

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Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Painting and Sculpture

Data Source

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Topic

Landscape\California

Landscape\time\sunrise

Landscape\mountain\Sierra Nevada Mountains

Metadata Usage

CC0

Link to Original Record

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7bde4c1b1-1765-48a9-b7e8-369f1fdc2d6a

Record ID

saam_1967.136.8