On the Wisconsin River, near Milwaukee

Details

ALBERT BIERSTADT (1830-1902)
On the Wisconsin River, near Milwaukee
signed with conjoined initials 'ABierstadt.' (lower right)
oil on canvas
26 x 36 in. (66 x 91.4 cm.)
Painted circa 1886-88.

Provenance

Knoedler-Modarco S.A., New York.
Hammer Galleries, New York, 1983.
Acquired by the present owner, circa late 1980s.

Further details

We would like to thank Melissa Webster Speidel, President of the Bierstadt Foundation and Director of the Albert Bierstadt catalogue raisonné project, for her assistance in the cataloguing of this lot. This work is included in the database being compiled for her forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Albert Bierstadt visited Wisconsin in 1886 upon the occasion of an exhibition of his works at the Milwaukee Art School. There, he was enamored with the Midwestern scenery, painting his surroundings. According to Melissa Speidel, the present work depicts "the jagged profile of the distinctive geological feature that the region is famous for, the Dells of [the] Wisconsin River...Bierstadt sought the scenic throughout his career. Given their natural beauty, it is not surprising that the artist found these formations composed of layers of sedimentary rock and eroded by wind and water an appealing subject. A consummate landscape painter, he was able to masterfully capture on canvas the unique shapes and splendor of the Wisconsin Dells." (unpublished letter, 2024)

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