Mission (Warnock?): Landscape with Mountains and Foreground Trees (from Sketchbook) 1890

This sketch of a landscape, featuring mountains and foreground trees, comes from a sketchbook by Albert Bierstadt, a key figure in 19th-century American landscape painting. Bierstadt, associated with the Hudson River School, romanticized the American West, creating grand vistas that captured the imagination of a nation undergoing rapid expansion. This sketch provides a glimpse into his artistic process, revealing how Bierstadt distilled the landscape into its essential forms. It's important to remember that Bierstadt's landscapes often omitted the presence and history of Indigenous peoples, contributing to a narrative of untouched wilderness that justified colonial expansion. What might it mean to acknowledge that these landscapes were, in fact, inhabited, cultivated, and deeply meaningful to the communities who called them home? As you look at this sketch, consider how it invites us to reflect on the complex relationship between nature, culture, and power in American history.