Albert Bierstadt's Among the Sierra Nevada, California, with deer beside a still lake and bright mountains.
Human Verified
Smithsonian American Art Museum Open Access image Public domain

Among the Sierra Nevada, California

by Albert Bierstadt

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
183 x 305 cm (72 x 120 1/8 inches)
Year
1868
Availability
In a museum collection, not for sale
Collection
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Accession Number
1977.107.1
Credit Line
Bequest of Helen Huntington Hull, granddaughter of William Brown Dinsmore
Copyright
Public domain, museum record marked free to use
See the Full Artist Record

Check this work in the holding collection's own record

Description

Deer stand beside a glassy lake as sunlight breaks through steep Sierra Nevada peaks. The enormous canvas turns the view into a stage.

Look Closer

Start with the deer at the water, then notice how every band leads farther back: reflection, waterfall, dark trees, bright cliff and glowing sky. The size and the reveal were part of the effect.

How It Was Made, and What Changed

Bierstadt painted the scene in Rome after his western travels. He showed it in Berlin and London before bringing it to the United States. The Smithsonian record describes a painter who paired careful craft with curtains, tickets, reviews and a serious talent for publicity.