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Back to article: ALBERT BIERSTADT (1830-1902)

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BIERSTADT, ALBERT (1830-1902), American landscape painter, was born in Solingen, Westphalia, Germany, on the 7th of January 1830, and was taken to the United States when about a year old. In 1853-1856 he studied painting at Dusseldorf. His pictures of the western part of the United States, and particularly the Rocky Mountains, made him widely popular. His " Estes Park, Colorado," is in the collection of the earl of Dunraven; his " Sierra Nevada " (1878) is in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, and " The Valley of Yosemite " in the James Lenox collection in New York. He received many German and Austrian decorations, and was a chevalier of the French Legion of Honour. He rendered panoramic views with a certain ability, though his work was rather topographically correct and impressive than artistic in conception and execution. He was a member of the National Academy of Design of New York, and is represented by two historical paintings, " The Discovery of the Hudson River," and " The Settlement of California," in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. He died in New York City on the 18th of February 1902.