How does Valley of the Yosemite elucidate its Painting?
For his second trip West, in the summer of 1863, Bierstadt went with writer Fitz Hugh Ludlow to the West Coast of the United States. During the trip, Bierstadt spent several weeks doing en plein air studies in Yosemite Valley. Those studies were used as references for his future paintings, including this 1864 Valley of the Yosemite, which was painted in his New York studio. Since this painting was on a smaller scale than his other larger panoramic scenes and it was done on paperboard, it is often thought that it is a sketch for his significantly larger, Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California, which was painted a year later in 1865. Many versions of Valley of the Yosemite were painted by Bierstadt.
Upon viewing Yosemite, Albert Bierstadt immediately wrote to his friend, John Hay, in August 1863, saying he discovered the Garden of Eden in America: Yosemite. With such thoughts of Paradise on his mind, Bierstadt painted an idealistic scene of the American wilderness, which he portrayed as completely untouched by man. Overall, the panoramic scene is idyllic, as a cluster of deer linger peacefully in the center foreground. A painter of the Hudson River School, Bierstadt's style also had aspects of luminism.  As seen in this depiction of Yosemite, the setting sun casts a yellow-orange glow over the entire landscape.Perhaps Bierstadt hoped to preserve this paradise through paintings like these, as a few years later, the First transcontinental railroad was built, which introduced tourism to the American west.Bierstadt's paintings, specifically ones with the Yosemite Valley as subject matter, resonated with many Americans as an untouched paradise during a time of unrest, as the American Civil War occurred. Furthermore, upon seeing these Yosemite-themed paintings, it spurred Americans to protect America's natural landscape. With public support, in 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill protecting Yosemite's natural beauty, preserving it as a park for the public to enjoy.
Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California Garden of Eden Fitz Hugh Ludlow American Civil War John Hay en plein air Abraham Lincoln Hudson River School luminism West Coast of the United States President Abraham Lincoln Albert Bierstadt Yosemite Valley First transcontinental railroad