Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), born in Germany, came to America at the age of two and soon achieved fame and prices higher than any paid before to a living American artist. Large landscapes of the West made his fame but he unfortunately outlived his vogue though not his talent. This small canvas is probably a late work and shows his tenderly observed, unpretentious realism with its sprightly masculine flavor. It looks very empirical but has the wonderful favoritism towards and identification with “the sense data before one” of the old scientific empiricism. The “subject” is the scene and there is no apparent emphasis on Art or creative expression. But how different from a photograph, even from a photograph of the period! To the young of today, it will look almost entirely exotic and thus be able to share the novelty and interest of all past styles, its personal flavor strongly visible. Incidentally, though probably an Eastern scene, it is, happily, plainly appropriate to a Minnesota museum.Referenced Work of Art

1. Albert Bierstadt, American, 1830-1902. Lakeshore Landscape. Oil on canvas, 13 5/8” x 18 5/8”. Gift of Florence Cornell K. Gale, 1961, 61.51.