Explore the Background of this artwork.
Hudson River School landscape painter Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902) was born in Germany, and, though his family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, when he was two, he spent many of his formative years in Europe. He made his debut in an 1858 exhibition, but his breakthrough came in the aftermath of a journey he made the following year. In the spring of 1859, Bierstadt joined the Honey Road Survey Party led by then-colonel Frederick W. Lander. Bierstadt traveled as far as the Wyoming Range in the Rocky Mountains and made studies for numerous paintings along the way. Bierstadt was greatly impressed by the landscape he encountered and described the Rocky Mountains as "the best material for the artist in the world." Bierstadt habitually extensively prepared for his work, making as many as fifty sketches for a single painting. In 1860, he exhibited Base of the Rocky Mountains, Laramie Peak at the National Academy of Design. His greatest success, however, came with The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, which he exhibited in 1863 at the Tenth Street Studio Building, where he also had a studio.
Frederick W. Lander Wyoming Range landscape Tenth Street Studio Building Rocky Mountains New Bedford, Massachusetts Lander's Peak Wyoming Hudson River School Albert Bierstadt