Albert Bierstadt

(1830-1902)

The name Bierstadt has always been among the major figures in 19th-century American art, regardless of the time period, whether in the 1960s or today. As such, his work has always been expensive relative to the market at the moment. Among the very first paintings my father acquired in 1965 or 1966, at Ken Lux’s suggestion, was a small sunset image by Bierstadt for the tidy sum of $500. We were very proud of that picture. Probably five or six years later, after I became aware of Biertstadt’s habit of painting very complete oil studies on paper— usually 13" x 19" in size, and on location—did I have the chance to acquire our second Bierstadt, a richly executed tree study. These works on paper were later mounted on canvas, which is the way they are generally found today. As the years passed I would always carefully examine all the larger, studiopainted Bierstadts in search of “my tree,” convinced that it was such a successful study that it would appear somewhere in a major piece. I’ve yet to find it, but I keep looking.