Albert BierstadtAmerican, 1830–1902In the Rockies
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “In the Rockies” now? Collection: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Cambridge, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 2007.121
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
In the life of Albert Bierstadt
The whole lifeDecember 1861
“Guerrilla Warfare” shown in Brooklyn
Bierstadt based this Civil War painting on his brief stay with soldiers at Camp Cameron in 1861 and on a stereoscopic photograph by his brother Edward. Shown by the Brooklyn Art Association at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, it received a favourable review.
1863
West again, with the writer Fitz Hugh Ludlow
Bierstadt's companion was the writer Fitz Hugh Ludlow, whose wife he later married; the two spent seven weeks in the Yosemite Valley. Studies from the trip fed his huge exhibition canvases through the 1860s, which made him the pre-eminent painter of the American West.
1863
A first ascent: Mount Rosalie in Colorado
With the politician William Byers, Bierstadt made the first ascent of a 4,348-metre peak and named it Rosalie after Fitz Hugh Ludlow's wife, his own future wife (other accounts call it Mount Rosa; in 1895 it was renamed Evans). The same year he was the first to climb a neighbouring 4,287-metre peak, which still bears his name.
1863
Drafted — and pays for a substitute
During the Civil War Bierstadt was drafted and paid for a substitute to serve in his place.
1865
“The Rocky Mountains” sells for $25,000
“The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak” was bought for $25,000 — almost $400,000 in 2020 money: financial recognition confirmed his standing.
