Bierstadt’s Beasts

"Long Horned Sheep," 19th century, by Albert Bierstadt. Oil on paper mounted on canvas; 13.5 inches by 19 inches. Private collection. Public Domain

On a cross-country road trip, I rambled into Estes Park, Colorado. There, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, magnificent scenery abounded. What I remembered most were the elk! With almost 300,000 elk living in Colorado, Estes Park becomes the breeding ground for these majestic creatures during the elk rut.

The great American landscape painter Albert Bierstadt once visited Estes Park during one of his Western expeditions. In his 1877 composition of “Estes Park, Colorado, Whyte’s Lake,” he painted the Rocky Mountains with the famous elk in the foreground. Although that man-made lake no longer exists, one can look across Jenny Lake to the Tetons and be greeted by a similar view in Wyoming.

"Estes Park, Colorado, Whyte's Lake," circa 1877, by Albert Bierstadt. Oil on canvas; 30 inches by 43.75 inches. Whitney Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming. Public Domain

The fact that we can still witness wildlife in these wilderness reserves is largely because of the work of landscape painters such as Bierstadt, whose canvases influenced early conservation movements. The great beasts of the West are thus no less wondrous today than when Bierstadt recorded them during the Western expansion.

The Painted West

In 1831, Prussian-born Bierstadt was brought to the United States when he was 1 year old. Twenty years later, he began to paint in oils. In 1853, the 23-year-old returned to western Germany to study in Düsseldorf, where he spent the next four years developing his artistry before becoming part of the second generation of Hudson River School painters in America.

“Light in the Forest,” 1870s, by Albert Bierstadt. Oil on canvas; 51.9 inches by 42.1 inches. Private collection. Public Domain

In 1859 and 1863, Bierstadt joined Western expeditions, making studies of the United States’ untamed Western landscapes that he later developed into paintings. Famously known for his sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains, he disseminated scenes of the American West to those who would never have the opportunity to see the views themselves.

Bierstadt saw more than the stunning landscapes; he saw the magnificent creatures that made the West their home.

Majestic Mammals

"Buffalo Head," circa 1879, by Albert Bierstadt. Oil on paper mounted on cardboard; 13.2 inches by 15.2 inches. Whitney Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming. Public Domain

In 1879, Bierstadt painted the silhouette of a bison with the same attention to lighting that he addressed in his landscapes. “Buffalo Head” is only 13 inches by 15 inches, yet the great animal’s dark form fills the composition. With the dusky sky and simplified background, Bierstadt employed sfumato and chiaroscuro (smoky and light-to-dark) techniques of Renaissance masterpieces. Awing his viewers with the magnificent animal, the artist demonstrates that the mighty buffalo is integral to this land.

Bierstadt employed a similar style in rendering “Long Horned Sheep.” Again, he placed the animal in silhouette, emphasizing its graceful form and horns. Unlike biological illustrations of animals, Bierstadt created a scene, capturing a fleeting moment.

"Rocky Mountain Goats," circa 1885, by Albert Bierstadt. Oil on canvas; 50 1/4 inches by 43 1/4 inches. Private collection. Public Domain

To capture a group of rocky mountain goats, Bierstadt placed the white animals against a very dark mountain background. A sliver of light pierces the cloudy sky to illuminate the animals resting in the foreground. But the darkening sky and foreboding mountain work with the triangle of goats to draw your gaze upward to an uncertain sky. In “Trapped,” a lone bison stands in a dark winter landscape as hungry wolves close in for the kill. Bierstadt captures the drama, and the struggle, of the animals he observes.

“Trapped,” 19th century, by Albert Bierstadt. Oil on paper mounted on cardboard; 11 inches by 15 inches. Whitney Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming. Public Domain

But his world is not totally dark and melancholy. Other works, such as “Light in the Forest,” capture the form of animals highlighted in golden light.

Advocating Conservation

“The Last of the Buffalo,” 1888, by Albert Bierstadt. Oil on canvas; 71 inches by 118.75 inches. National Gallery of Art, Washington. With buffalo on the verge of extinction because of Western expansion, Bierstadt “masterfully conceived fiction that addressed contemporary issues." Public Domain

Even in the 19th century, the vast wildernesses of the West were beginning to disappear with America’s expansion. Bierstadt was indeed witness to the change taking place. He advocated the preservation of wildlife and portrayed the Sioux and Shoshone peoples, whom he had encountered in his trips west, with dignity.

His paintings were influential for early American conservation efforts. The West, to Bierstadt, was far more than a magnificent landscape to paint. It was a fragile and complex world of wondrous creatures and indigenous people—a world that needed to be protected.

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