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American
artist Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) specialized
in landscape paintings, particularly of the
American West. Albert Bierstadt was born in
Solingen, Germany and brought to New Bedford,
Massachusetts when he was two years old. In
1854 he returned to Dusseldorf, Germany to study
painting. While in Europe he made many field
trips along the Rhine, in the Alps and in Italy
painting with fellow Americans Whittredge and
Gifford.
He returned to the United States in 1857 and
painted the landscape. In 1859 he was invited
to join General Lander's expedition to survey
a wagon route to the Pacific. This was the first
of three trips west by Bierstadt. While on these
trips he would make oil sketches on paper and
then return to his studio where they often became
huge panoramic paintings. These works, especially
of the Rocky Mountains, brought him immediate
and overwhelming popularity that he soon became
America's most popular painter.
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