PFG Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite, Albert Bierstadt

Albert Bierstadt is best known for his large, grandiose paintings of the American West. Born in Germany, he and his family moved to Massachusetts when he was a young boy. As a young man he returned to Europe and learned his craft in the Alps of Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Back in the United States, he traveled on westward expeditions and created field studies; later in the studio he applied his impressive technical expertise to landscapes. His paintings of the Rocky Mountains and Yosemite Valley were immensely popular in the 60's and 70's, as they offered a romanticized vision of America’s wilderness as the Promised Land.