Sketches of Three Trees (from Sketchbook) 1890

Albert Bierstadt sketched these three trees with graphite on paper, as part of a sketchbook, sometime during his career. The artist was one of many landscape painters who emerged during the nineteenth century. Bierstadt and others like him were part of the cultural movement that created and popularized the concept of the American West. Yet, these landscapes were by no means untouched. Indigenous people, such as the Shoshone, Ute, and Arapaho, had lived on and cared for the land for thousands of years. Bierstadt's romanticized depictions often left out these people. This omission is reflective of a larger, often violent historical context of territorial expansion and the displacement of native populations. When viewing Bierstadt's sketches, we are invited to reflect on what is present as well as what is missing. How do these landscape images shape our understanding of the past and present?