NEW YORK CITY — One of the most highly-anticipated lots in Doyle’s April 16 American Paintings
Silver & Decorative Arts auction was Albert Bierstadt’s (American
Yellowstone,” which erupted to $191,000 including premium against an estimate of $80,000-120,000
The dramatic 27-7/8-by-17¾-inch (framed) composition in oil on paper mounted to Masonite had provenance to the Kennedy Galleries (New York City)
had been included in the Smithsonian’s “American Landscape: A Changing Frontier” (April 28-June 19
1966) and is featured in the database for the Albert Bierstadt Catalogue Raisonné Project
along with a letter of opinion from Melissa Webster Speidel
the president of the Bierstadt Foundation and the director of the Albert Bierstadt Catalogue Raisonné Project
A follow-on review will be featured in an upcoming issue
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GUEST: These were wedding gifts to my parents
GUEST: We've always had them in our homes
but I didn't know this was a famous artist till I watched ANTIQUES ROADSHOW…
GUEST: ...and they showed a Bierstadt painting
And I have two of those downstairs in a box
APPRAISER: Both of these are signed "A
He's probably best known for his Western subjects
APPRAISER: His magnificent views of the Rockies and so on
he's represented in almost every major institution in America
as well as the East Coast and even the Caribbean
The painting on the left is quite characteristic of what we expect of the artist
You also notice there's a lot of nice texture in the sky
The one closest to me is much more unusual
and we're not sure about the other one
what's very interesting about this artist is that often his paintings were signed by other people
Bierstadt." The A and B are conjoined
the signatures on both are really rather large for the overall composition
and a little bit stilted in terms of the way they're done
So it's my feeling that there's a possibility that these might have been signed by a family member as opposed to by Bierstadt himself
And when we run across paintings like this
we often like to have them researched by the experts
And there is a catalogue raisonné project which is being put together by a gallery in Santa Fe
And then there are also two major scholars who have been working on the artist for quite a long time
we would want to show them to those experts
These are frames that are characteristic of the late 1940s and '50s
but they would have been from around the time that your parents got them
GUEST: When I discovered that this was a noted artist
Similar sizes ranged anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 or $7,000
But Bierstadt is extremely popular as an artist
because of the luminosity and the size and also the
a gallery would probably ask somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000
and it's probably more in the perhaps $15,000 range
APPRAISER: Each of them would be under $1,000
APPRAISER: So it's quite a difference
and well worth doing the research to verify the authenticity..
APPRAISER: ...and also to verify the subject
GUEST: Quite a difference from the $125 price tag on the back
Masterpieces of locally manufactured modernist furniture at the Grand Rapids Public Museum
Magnificent Michigan appraisals revisited 13 years after ROADSHOW's stop in Grand Rapids
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things
including the condition of the object itself
trends in the market for that kind of object
and the location where the item will be sold
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an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects
an auction price could be higher than retail
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Bierstadt is one of Colorado's mountains that reaches over 14,000 feet in elevation
and typically this class 2 peak is a fairly simple hike to conquer
this peak is just as dangerous as any other peak
The winter-like conditions were recorded at just three degrees Fahrenheit at the time of the rescue
The man was reported missing by his father
who was instructed to alert authorities if his son hadn't sent word by 8 p.m
The search party began rescue efforts shortly after the father's call on the start of Guanella Pass
It wasn't until midnight that the team spotted a flashing light
The hiker was immobilized with frozen feet just one mile north of the path's creek crossing
and the rescue team deviated from the path to reach the hiker around 1 a.m
Rescuers had to belay the hiker down from the cliff after carefully warming his feet up
All parties involved were able to return to the trailhead safe and sound at 3 a.m
Alpine Rescue Team had just a ten-hour break before another call came in
reporting on an aparent avalanche near the Pumphouse parking lot
The call reported that there was no firm knowledge of how many
the involved parties reported that only one person had been partially buried and had managed to get out on their own
Although no extraction efforts were needed
the team remained at the scene to provide any resources while the situation was stabilized
Alpine Rescue Team later shared the important lessons and reminders that came from these incidents
• Always share your plans and a cutoff time with someone not going on the trip
our subjects father may not have notified the team in time.• Pack extra layers in case yours get wet.• Bring a light source
had our subject not had a light source it’s unlikely he would have been able to signal the team
• A witnessed avalanche is like a witnessed car accident
Call 911 to report what you’ve seen and whether emergency crews are needed
but was unable to share details that could have kept responders free for other incidents
"Remember that winter recreation in Colorado has heightened consequences
Be prepared for vastly different conditions and know what to bring and how to use it."
CLAIRE BOYER
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If you're new to Colorado's 14ers or simply looking for a day hike into the clouds
try these (relatively) easy adventures on Colorado's tallest mountains
Let’s get this out of the way: there are no easy 14,000-foot mountain hikes in Colorado
The 58 summits that are generally agreed to make up the 14ers offer a range of difficulties
The least difficult of these peaks are walk-ups on well-established trails
the “easy” ones don’t require high levels of fitness
or even ornery mountain goats can add unexpected challenges to any 14er
Assuming you are prudent enough to get an early start (on-trail by 6 AM)
the following 14ers are some of the less demanding (but still satisfying) high-altitude hikes
a quick note on what are technically the easiest 14ers: the ones you can drive up
Pikes is the easiest 14er as all you have to do is basically step out of your car once on top
Mount Blue Sky is the easiest hike when taken from the high parking lot
These outliers earn themselves an asterisk courtesy of their motor vehicle access—they are rightfully not what most hikers would consider a real hike
Biggest Challenges: Getting a parking spot at Summit Lake
Note: The Mount Blue Sky scenic byway has implemented a reservation system for the road in 2021. You can find more information here
Single-car fees are currently $15.00 for a 3-day pass (there is no one-day pass option)
Biggest Challenges: Dealing with the crowds on weekends
the occasional moose encounter in the lower willows
Mount Bierstadt benefits from its easy-to-reach parking area at the top of the paved Guanella Pass. This trailhead is roughly an hour from the Denver metro area, so it can be a very busy place on summer weekends (get ready to stand, or hike, in line). In 2020, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative estimated the traffic on the peak to be 38,204 hikers for the year
Aim for a mid-week hike in the summer if possible
or an autumn shoulder-season weekend in October to lessen the impact of crowds
Quandary Peak was the most climbed 14er in 2020 as measured by the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
A whopping 50,000 hikers aimed for the summit in that year and the trend does not seem to be slowing down
This is partially due to its easy auto access from Breckenridge and the fact the standard route is mostly safe from avalanches
making it one of the very few 14ers that is relatively safe to hike year-round
The standard route via the East Ridge is basically a straight-up ramp to the top along a very broad ridgeline
There is no nuance or difficult route finding
Views of the Mosquito and Tenmile Ranges that surround the peak are outstanding
Summits in view en route include glacially smoothed peaks within the Breckenridge ski area (including Peak 10 and Peak 9) as well as the sharp
toothy summits of Fletcher Mountain and Drift Peak to the west
Summit Elevation: Grays 14,270’ / Torreys 14,267’
Have you started to notice many popular 14ers are also the most crowded
The 14ers that are within 90 minutes of the Denver/Boulder/Golden area draw in the throngs
but fear not: less-crowded 14ers are coming later in the list
Humans and dogs alike flock to this popular duo
Biggest Challenges: Bashing up the 4×4 access road to the high parking area
The upshot of millennia of erosion is that there’s a mining road to within a quarter-mile of the summit
high-clearance 4×4 to reach the high parking at 12,000′
Stock SUVs can get the job done if they have good tires and you’re not afraid to scratch ‘em up a little
The hike simply follows the remaining Jeep road up to the last quarter-mile
where an easy Class 2 walk across a rocky trail leads to the summit
Views from the top look out on the Sawatch Range
Small red garnets can be found in the open on and around the summit
but what it lacks in charm it makes up for with spacious vistas
Don’t let the half-marathon distance intimidate you
San Luis Peak is a numerically-pleasing 14,014’ mountain that is a true Class 1 hike through some of the most beautiful alpine terrain in Colorado
Lush fields of brilliant wildflowers line the lower basin
where streams trickle down mountainsides and merge into the mellow Stewart Creek
The trail eventually reaches the rocky shoulder of San Luis
Perhaps the hardest part of this adventure is the long drive to the trailhead along semi-signed dirt roads. Guidebooks and sites like 14ers.com can help lead the way
but these roads are best navigated in daylight
Biggest Challenges: Ponying up $150 per person for access
Culebra rarely tops any ”favorite 14er” lists
more so for bureaucratic reasons than for anything aesthetic about the mountain
pretty mountain that often stays greener than other 14ers due to its southern location in the Sangre de Cristo mountains
with no technical terrain and gentle ridges on its brief 2.5 mile walk to the top
The catch when hiking Culebra is the $150 per-person fee required to hike it. Cielo Vista Ranch privately owns the land Hikers will need to visit their website to set up a reservation and pay up. You can read about the sordid and occasionally frustrating history of the ranch here
Despite decades of effort from Colorado public lands groups to acquire the land for public use
passing hands between Texas millionaires for the past 50 years
Biggest Challenges: Sustained elevation gain
Redcloud is often paired with its neighbor
highlighted by the namesake red rock that adorns its upper slopes
The amphitheater that precedes the northeast ridge is an amazing spectacle
crowned with a curved ridgeline dented with the timeless flow of numerous small creeks
The red sand and rock high on the peak is unlike any other 14er
The switchbacking trail to the summit is smooth and solid
views high on the ridge offer excellent perspectives of neighboring San Juan Range peaks
all without the wicked exposure that sometimes accompanies hard-earned overlooks
Biggest Challenges: Moderate crowds on weekends
Mount Elbert is arguably the hardest of the “easy” 14ers as a result of its big-time elevation gain
It’s the highest summit in the Rocky Mountains—and by default
dark water of the Twin Lakes far below the peak
Much of the steep hiking is over early while hikers are still below treeline
after which it yields to a gradual ascent along the broad Northeast Ridge
and there is only one brief section of simple scrambling near the summit itself
14er forums often debate if the route is Class 1 or Class 2
but given the rocky terrain near the final push
even if the majority of the route is Class 1
this is a big but straightforward hike that will put you on top of the world
Note that there are always tougher ways up these mountains for those looking for a challenge—for example
Quandary Peak’s thrilling Class 3 west ridge
But for those just getting going on the 14ers game or hikers looking for a less demanding day hike
The 30-mile thru-hike was the ideal trip for putting our backpacking and hiking candidates through the wringer
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Her work is the subject of a softly provocative exhibition
“Kay WalkingStick/Hudson River School,” at the Addison Gallery of American Art
It explores the friction between the idealized visions of a cadre of 19th-century American Romantic painters and the somber reality of a contemporary Indigenous artist meaning to reclaim the land from their rose-colored gaze
The show offers some simple comparatives: WalkingStick’s “Niagara,” 2022
a view of Niagara Falls thundering and ice-blue falling away to the horizon
imprinted with Indigenous Haudenosaunee patterns
hangs next to an array of absurdly majestic 19th-century paintings of the falls by Ferdinand Richardt
More pointed is her response to Asher Durand’s “East Branch of the Ausable River,” 1837–78
a painting of misty-eyed reverence of the Adirondack wilderness
WalkingStick’s “Durand’s Homage to the Mohawks,” 2021
refashions his treacly vision of the land as semi-abstract and stamped with Mohawk motifs
an update and corrective to his willful exclusion
Art, of course, is complicit in the development of American exceptionalism, and the Hudson River School is one of its key co-conspirators. Artists like Thomas Cole and George Inness saw the landscape as vast
Their vision was one of idealized exclusion
there for the taking; the people who had called it home millennia before they put brush to canvas were simply part of that landscape
In the hands of an artist like Albert Bierstadt, the overwrought grandiosity of early landscape painting was an entrepreneurial gambit and an overt political tool
presented a vision for American providence that he
felt in his bones: That “the untransacted destiny of the American people is to subdue the continent — to rush over this vast field to the Pacific Ocean.”
the needed subduing carried with it some bloody context
His adventuring across the Great Plains through the Rocky Mountains and on to the sea was filled with encounters with Native Americans
none of them keen to surrender their lands to interloping opportunists like him
Gilpin went to Washington to plead for the federal’s government’s help with westward expansion
the notion of “Manifest Destiny,” the uniquely American belief that God bestowed upon white settlers the right to take whatever they needed from whomever might have it
was effectively sold to thousands of pioneers
Their march westward would see Indigenous peoples slaughtered en masse or shunted to tiny reservations while their ancestral lands were portioned out by the federal government to eager pioneers — for free
painting vista after majestic vista of shimmering mountain valley and stream beckoning eastern settlers forth
his implausibly pristine “The Coming Storm,” 1869
simmers with the drama of divinely inspired perfection
but paintings like these made Bierstadt famous in the rapt eastern colonies
His fame inspired others to follow suit: Frederick A
Butman’s “Mount Shasta from Shasta Valley,” circa 1867
a vision of snow-capped peaks beckoning forth through the untouched wilderness to the coast just beyond
hangs next to WalkingStick’s “Farewell to the Smokies (Trail of Tears),” 2007
Hers is a sobering response; a diptych of two looming mountains
ghostly figures march across the bottom of each frame
the specter of forced removal of Indigenous people from their ancestral homes
I don’t think it’s too much to call work like Butman’s and Bierstadt’s propaganda; they helped sell the idea of westward expansion
as an uncomplicated glide to prosperity amid the wonders of untamed nature
Bierstadt would often depict Indigenous people as pacified
no threat to aspiring settlers; in “Indian Encampment
a pair of Indigenous people turn timidly away from the viewer
WalkingStick offers appropriate pushback: In “Our Land,” 2007
snow-packed mountains rear up menacingly under mustard-hued skies
a column of Niimíipuu-inspired patterns framing its left edge
Back here in the East, the agenda of artists like Cole especially was a little more complicated; his vision of the American wilderness was romanticized, yes, but with different purpose. For Cole, really the forefather of the Hudson River School
encroaching industry was a worrying threat to the nature he loved
He intended his work partly to advocate for its preservation
sometimes by infusing it with divine presence
Other passages in the exhibition display her work not as retort to romantic forebears
The terrific soft-edged geometric abstraction of “Hudson Reflection VI,” 1973
with its undulating rhythms of color like autumn leaves rippling in the water’s surface
A series of three diptychs from 2010 capture the Ramapo River in New Jersey at various seasonal changes; “Ice Flow,” in winter
pairs a chilly view of snowy water and black denuded trees with a shimmering panel of silver
Where WalkingStick and the Hudson River School diverge is more dramatic
Whatever love she might share with Cole and company is complicated by how incomplete
how exclusive that past affection now feels
WalkingStick fills in the void and makes it whole
Through Feb. 2. The Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy, 180 Main St., Andover. 978-749-4000, addison.andover.edu
Murray Whyte can be reached at murray.whyte@globe.com. Follow him @TheMurrayWhyte.
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Bierstadt Lagerhaus cofounder and brewer Ashleigh Carer describes their Helles as “the purest expression of malt,” best consumed by the liter
While it may not get as much fanfare as their Slow Pour Pils
it’s equally beloved among the brewers drawn to Denver’s Bierstadt during the Great American Beer Festival—or any time of year
Nearly six years ago at Craft Beer & Brewing, we produced one of our earliest and most-watched video courses: The Secrets to Brewing Great Lagers with Bierstadt Lagerhaus, taught by Bierstadt Lagerhaus brewers and cofounders Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye
Carter and Eye share this homebrew-scale recipe for Bierstadt Helles
inspired by the Bavarian tradition and gently refined in Colorado
While this core beer doesn’t get as much fanfare as their Slow Pour Pils
it’s equally beloved among the brewers who seem drawn to Bierstadt during the Great American Beer Festival—or any time of year
Carter describes their Helles as “the purest expression of malt,” best consumed by the liter
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Albert Bierstadt came to the United States with his parents as a 2-year-old
he would grow up to become one of the foremost painters of the American West
He studied painting in Europe and developed a style distinct from that of both New York’s Hudson River School and Thomas Moran’s English aesthetic
and his name became synonymous with luminous sweeping vistas of Western landscapes
Bierstadt’s paradisiacal renderings of Yosemite Valley generated tremendous publicity
His Edenic vision of an untouched West struck a chord with a country riven by the Civil War and could have ultimately been influential in President Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 signing of the Yosemite Grant Act
which established Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove as protected wilderness areas
This is the Bierstadt with whom we are familiar
the major exhibition Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West attests to just that
Director Emeritus and Senior Scholar at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody
complementary view of the painter’s career
We talked with Hassrick’s co-curators — Karen McWhorter
Scarlett Curator of Western American Art at the Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West
Senior Curator and Curator of Art at the Gilcrease Museum — about the groundbreaking exhibition that shows the iconic artist in a new light
Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West reexamines Bierstadt through a new lens trained on the artist’s history paintings featuring Plains Indians and the American bison
With new perspectives on Bierstadt as a principal chronicler of a changing West
this exhibition explores the ways in which the artist approached bison and American Indians as prime subjects for his art
It also critically reconsiders the artist’s engagement with not just the aesthetic issues of his time but also contemporary political and social debates around wildlife conservation and management in America
and the destiny of indigenous peoples of the American West
Bierstadt’s interest in wildlife conservation and management is evident in his actions
He was a passionate outdoorsman and skilled hunter
but from his first trip West and throughout his life
he was often more interested in painting animals than he was in hunting them
but chose to sketch the beasts felled by his compatriots rather than participate in the action
Bierstadt was made a charter member of the Boone and Crockett Club
[North America’s] first conservation group committed to preserving and managing wildlands and wildlife
The club’s founding mission centered on protecting Yellowstone National Park’s animal populations from poachers
Irresponsible hunting had nearly decimated the remnant herd of American bison and other big game residing in the park
Bierstadt called attention to the plight of bison in the West by wielding the tools of his trade — paintbrush and canvas
The same year he joined the Boone and Crockett Club
These canvases glorified historical subjects
They depict an earlier chapter in the American West when bison ranged in innumerable herds and the region’s indigenous peoples had not yet faced the new and incredible hardships wrought by newcomers to the West and the American government
the year before the area officially became a public park
Though he was only indirectly involved in persuading Congress to protect Yosemite
Bierstadt’s paintings recorded and celebrated the area’s grandeur
picturing the landscape and its wildlife as worthy of preservation
Several of Bierstadt’s impressive paintings of the areas which would become Yellowstone
and Rocky Mountain national parks are included in the exhibition
Bierstadt’s double portrait of the Shoshone Chief Washakie and Col
Lander positions the two men on even ground
presenting them as prominent leaders who share an interest in establishing amicable relations between their cultures
In paintings like this one — included in the exhibition — Bierstadt’s high esteem for Native peoples is on display
Like many other European and American artists working in the West in the 19th century
Bierstadt professed concern for the fate of the region’s indigenous peoples
And yet some of his paintings also helped promote the West as a site of opportunity for European and American emigrants
The relationship between Bierstadt’s apparent empathy for American Indians and his creation of paintings which seem to promote Manifest Destiny is a complicated one
the companion works elevated the Indian and the buffalo to equal
An equestrian Native hunter and a powerful bison bull battle for survival in an ascendant flash that privileges neither as a winner but presents both as claimants of the viewers’ consciousness
The shared angst of the protagonists compels us to respond to the poignant drama by considering that the potential loss of either is deeply tragic and that Anglo America has facilitated this ironic scenario where out of bounteous plenty has come profound loss.”
The centerpiece of the exhibition will be Bierstadt’s The Last of the Buffalo (1888) from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s collection
Another standout work will be the Museum of Fine Arts
a luminous canvas measuring 32 inches tall by 48 inches wide
The prairie stretches endlessly behind the animals
The bison march through placid waters toward a verdant scene of sheltering trees and thick green grass
This is Bierstadt’s depiction of the halcyon days of the American bison in the West
The animals are shown here in great numbers
with plentiful resources to support their populations
The threats of hunters and railway lines are nowhere to be seen
Bierstadt created other paintings which carry the bison’s story from its zenith to the species’ near-extermination
many of which will be shown in the exhibition
As a kind of first chapter to a cautionary tale
The Buffalo Trail symbolically underscores these iconic animals’ historical abundance in the West and celebrates their central importance to the region’s ecology and our national identity
Another work which will resonate with our audience is the Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society’s nearly 9-foot-wide painted muslin (ca
1900 – 1920) created by Lakota Sioux artist Standing Bear and interpreted in the exhibition by contemporary artist and scholar (and Standing Bear’s great-grandson) Arthur Amiotte
This special loan underscores the historical importance of bison to Plains Indian peoples
Not to be missed is a monumental triptych by William Jacob Hays — three paintings
which have not been exhibited together in modern times
they form a nearly 18-foot-wide saga of the American bison
from the species’ heyday to its destruction on the Plains
Paintings like these by Bierstadt’s contemporaries and predecessors are included in the exhibition to illuminate artists’ roles in debates around the conservation of land and wildlife in the 19th century
when he first displayed the 10-foot-wide painting The Rocky Mountains
Bierstadt sold the painting for the astonishing sum of $25,000
one of the highest prices yet paid for an American artwork
Bierstadt’s work was widely distributed in the 19th century
and many of his works were reproduced as prints
his majestic images of the American West influenced public perceptions of these landscapes
Westerners themselves greatly appreciated his paintings
When reporting Bierstadt’s passing in 1902
“His pictures did more than anything else to give the outer world an adequate idea of the scenic glories of the Yellowstone and of the Rocky Mountains
but his works will live for ages.” And so they have
Bierstadt’s works continue to elicit a variety of responses
he is continually recognized as a leading 19th-century American artist
critics roundly mocked Bierstadt’s paintings and the work of his Hudson River School peers
But the depth and variety of Bierstadt’s oeuvre did not remain swept under a rug
his works attracted attention and new critical reception on multiple fronts
Thomas Gilcrease proudly included Bierstadt’s work in his new Gilcrease Museum
the first major museum dedicated to Western American art
Bierstadt has been consistently recognized as one of the leading 19th-century artists of the American West
and as an artist who shaped views of the entire Rocky Mountain region
But other aspects of his work have also risen to fame
the Florence Lewison Gallery in New York organized the first-ever solo exhibition of Bierstadt’s work
Rather than focusing on Bierstadt’s mighty landscapes
the Lewison Gallery showed his plein-air oil sketches and compared their simplified compositions to contemporary abstract art
Bierstadt’s small sketches have been praised for their “absolute modernity,” and his sketches have been compared to work by James McNeill Whistler and even Mark Rothko
by focusing on Bierstadt’s connection to the early conservation movement in the United States
we hope to bring another dimension to Bierstadt’s work forward and demonstrate the wide-ranging impact of his artistic career
I hope this exhibition will prompt visitors to consider how art impacts the world around us
his paintings helped drive the movement to save the entire species of American bison from extinction
The tensions and issues we face as a society today have long-established roots
The themes in this exhibition can provide part of the historical context for today’s concerns about land preservation
we hope visitors will gain a greater appreciation for the nuance and complexity of our world today
Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West is on view June 8 – September 30 at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming; and November 3, 2018 – February 10, 2019, at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa
From the June/July 2018 Issue
It's like you walked into a classic German beer house in Munich
Set at 2875 Blake Street, in a building that also houses the Rackhouse Pub and C Square Cidery
Bierstadt Lagerhaus finally opened its doors last week after many delays and much anticipation
The new German-inspired brewery is the brainchild craft brewers Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye
both former brewers at Dry Dock Brewing Co
made in the German tradition in an all copper
84-year-old brew house that the owners of the company found
The 35-barrel system came from a brewery near Nuremberg
The plan at Bierstadt Lagerhaus is to always offer a classic pilsner
plus a seasonal beer and a collaboration brew
The inaugural one is an India Pale Lager crafted with Comrade Brewing
Bierstadt cofounder Ashleigh Carter explains the why and how of their Slow Pour Pils
and presentation that fulfills your intentions as the liquid’s creator
Sign up for a free account to skip pre-roll ads
Want to listen to this course (no video)? Head to the new Craft Beer & Brewing Library
Five years ago at Craft Beer & Brewing, we produced one of our earliest and most-watched video courses: The Secrets to Brewing Great Lagers with Bierstadt Lagerhaus
taught by Bierstadt brewers and cofounders Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye
their lager-focused brewery was a rare unicorn
with plenty of skeptics that such a business could stay afloat amid the sea of IPA
Old World–inspired lager has only gained steam since then
and it’s hard to understate Bierstadt’s influence on that ongoing evolution
when Carter and Eye said they wanted to return as instructors
and go deeper on their processes and lager-brewing philosophies
In this 62-minute video course
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Clip: Season 26 Episode 19 | 4m 8sVideo has Closed Captions | CC
Debra Force appraises Albert Bierstadt Oil Paintings
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as Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye share deeper insights and more on their technical approach to German-style lagers that beg to be enjoyed in quantity
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We are doing this because it’s the only thing we wanted to do
Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye of Denver’s Bierstadt Lagerhaus are quintessential brewers’ brewers
and their singular focus on lagers along with their exacting and methodical approach to traditional techniques has earned them deep respect from their peers
they discuss everything from the Weyermann base malt they use in their pale lagers
their novel glassware and pricing strategies
and why beer should not be the focus of the conversation
“It’s not one thing one hundred percent better
it’s a hundred things one percent better,” says Ashleigh Carter
“There’s not one thing I can put my finger on in our brewhouse that we do
but it’s the commitment to doing every single one of those things every single time.”
“You have to ask yourself why you got into this business in the first place,” says Bill Eye
“Was it because you had something to show people
Some part of you that you wanted to express in beer
if you just got into this to chase trends and make some money
I wish you’d go do something else to make your money
First look inside pFriem Family Brewers Milwaukie taproom
we talk with brewers about the beers that have made the biggest impact on them in terms of their personal taste and love of craft beer
as well as how it inspired their personal approach to brewing
Hopefully their perspective will inspire you to take your own trip down beer memory lane.
When talking about beer influences with Ashleigh Carter, Head Brewer/Co-Owner of the esteemed, tradition-steeped Bierstadt Lagerhaus in Denver
one would naturally expect her to rail off a myriad of German and other European lagers
Bierstadt is widely beloved for its faithful adherence to the Reinheitsgebot purity law and especially its Slow Pour Pils
a crisp and refreshing lager with a perfectly foamy head
Critics and beer lovers alike often praise Bierstadt as one of
if not the best lager brewery in the country
There’s a good reason why craft breweries have placed a focus on making quality lagers in recent years
with many also offering worth-the-wait offerings from a side pull tap
Carter may not be the only one who has loudly waved the flag for traditional lagers
but she has unquestionably played a significant role
we return to the question of the beers that she considers influential and important in her own journey as a brewer
And even though Carter’s love for tradition certainly comes through in her selection
it is nonetheless a surprising curveball from this brewer who works tirelessly to keep the beer scene lagering hard.
Ashleigh Carter: I would have to say that beer for me is Guiness (specifically on draft).
Ashleigh Carter: The first time I had this beer on draft was when I was 20 in England
I hadn't had much beer on draft (I probably had not had any actually) experience as I was underage in the United States so this was a treat and full disclosure it was the thing I ordered because it was the only thing I recognized
(Cask ale was a completely foreign concept to me.)
Just something I had never experienced before.
Ashleigh Carter: Guinness is special because of all these things
More often than not it’s poured in its own glass
It’s still a go-to for me when I see it on draft
Ashleigh Carter: Its influence on nitrogenated beers is obvious and the idea that dark doesn’t always mean sweet or heavy
It has personally influenced me to have our beer poured properly in my own glass.
Ashleigh Carter: Full disclosure: they should pay more attention to this beer for selfish reasons...so I can get it fresh more often
we have nothing like this beer at Bierstadt being a lager brewer
but its influence on presentation is seen in all of our beers and the idea that these are true “session beers.”
Originally from the tiny state of Rhode Island and spending his formative years in Austin
he has long focused his writing around cultural pursuits
Neil brings the same passion he has covering rock and roll to writing about the craft beer industry
A pacific northwest based webmag covering the craft beer and cider industry
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How you react to adversity speaks volumes for your character
You can plop down on your pity pot and binge watch “NCIS” spinoffs until loved ones intervene
grab a flight to Germany and rip the guts out of an 84-year-old brewhouse. For most of us
hopping on a Europe-bound airliner and buying a WWII-era brewery isn’t a go-to funk remedy
Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye said they had no other choice. After a rocky breakup with their former bedfellows at Prost Brewing
Carter and Eye were left with limited options and dwindling resources. “We couldn’t even pay our rent
We had to go over there and find a brewhouse.” In April 2014 the two set out on a weeklong campaign to Germany
determined to track down the piece that would become the cornerstone of Bierstadt Lagerhaus.
It’s what we wanted to do from the beginning.” For Eye
the concept of owning a brewery was kindled two decades ago
after attending brewing trade school. “From the moment I started
I knew I wanted to own a brewery,” said Eye
“I found these old copper kettles and just fell in love with the aesthetic of them.” After an exhaustive week traveling the German countryside
scouting breweries and sampling exquisite lagers
the two set their sights on a 1932 brewhouse in the quaint Bavarian village of Ammerndorf. Local legend has it that a Nazi soldier took his own life in the brewery during the war
Carter and Eye now faced the daunting logistical nightmare of moving the old-world equipment from one continent to another.
Although Carter returned to Ammerndorf to document the layout there was no existing spec sheet to reference for reassembly. “It wasn’t simple
“I have a million pictures I took on the trip and we had to go from there.” Now
after more than two years of creative engineering and back-breaking labor
once nestled in the heart of a cozy German village
has become the centerpiece of Bierstadt Lagerhaus in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood. Carter and Eye devote plenty of precision and detail to every aspect of the operation
From imported barley to the 35-barrel copper kettle
through the tip of the shimmering tap-rail and into a lustrous hand-painted pilsner glass
no expense has been spared and no corner cut. “We get a lot of flak because people say we have to have all this fancy stuff
“We spend a lot of time and effort on our beer and we want to follow through to the end
you wouldn’t serve a prime steak in a dog bowl
so why would you do that to a beer.” This summer brought the release of their three flagship lagers: Dunkle
Helles and the standard-bearer Pils that shines as crisp and golden as the “Pulp Fiction” briefcase. Fueled by hardship and grit
Carter and Eye have created something truly remarkable in Bierstadt Lagerhaus
The two radiate a warm charm when talking about their brewery that leaves their voices almost cracking. “I look in that kettle and realize that 80 years of people have been brewing in it,” said Eye
I’m thrilled to death to have the opportunity to do it the way we wanted to.” Bierstadt Lagerhaus shares a 21,000-square-foot facility with C Squared Ciders and the Rackhouse
which serves as a tasting room for both entities.
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Idaho Springs and Georgetown are a couple of the most accessible camping spots from the Denver Metro
Both are often overlooked by nearby Summit County
but these towns of Clear Creek County offer a gateway to some incredible campgrounds in the surrounding wilderness
Most of the campgrounds reside within the Arapaho National Forest
open during the typical Colorado summer from late May to September
Camping is easy to access from Georgetown and Idaho Springs, with a chance to discover two great fourteeners: Mount Blue Sky and Mount Bierstadt. Explore the great outdoors from Clear Creek County
home to some epic stretches of whitewater rafting on Clear Creek
The railroad town of Georgetown welcomes all who come to its humble historic streets. It sits as a gateway to Guanella Pass
an easy national scenic byway to drive south an hour to Grant at US-285
making camping on this route very convenient if you need to be close to amenities
Once you enter the Arapaho National Forest you’ll come across two campgrounds on the Georgetown side of the pass
On the opposite, south side, of Guanella Pass lies the Pike National Forest. You’ll descend from the summit down to Highway 285 at Grant. There are a couple of campgrounds near Grant on that side of Guanella Pass
They put you within a reasonable drive of I-70 and Georgetown
plus the back way to Denver Metro via Highway 285
It’s a nice auto tour to loop. The closest big town to Grant is Bailey
A small rustic campground set in a large aspen grove at the base of Mt
This campground is popular with fishermen seeking a variety of angling venues in stream
A sprawling 1.5 million acres of forest and grasslands await the visitor to this popular campground
Set at 10,800 feet campers are sometimes awakened to new-fallen snow
The former gold mining town of Idaho Springs has a lot to offer the summer camper. It has all the resources you may need in town, from tourist attractions like its Water Wheel and two gold mines to tour, to restaurants and shops. The Mount Blue Sky Byway
a national scenic byway summiting the 14er
is accessed either through Idaho Springs or Evergreen
Camping in close proximity to this major mountain is a huge plus for activities and convenience between a couple of cool mountain towns
Evergreen, Colorado has some campgrounds that also put you in close range of Mount Blue Sky and back route into Idaho Springs. These USFS campgrounds will give you an authentic Rocky Mountain camping experience. It’s a quick forty-five minute drive up to Evergreen from the capital
so these a great for a last minute getaway
The town of Evergreen has a neat little downtown and access to the peaceful Evergreen Lake
A modern RV park located close to the many activities in Idaho Springs
It’s central location to the many outdoor activities
sites of interest and historical sites makes it a perfect launching pad for your adventure
This basic campground at the foot of Mount Blue Sky is an extremely popular site during the peak summer season
Located on Chicago Creek it is a popular spot for anglers fishing for brown
A very popular campground with campsites for both RV and tent campers adjacent to five scenic byways. Surrounded by a spruce forest, the smell of the wilderness is always on the coll afternoon breeze. Echo Lake Mountain Park is close to the campground
Empire is the last little town you pass through before departing on your trip up Berthoud Pass
It’s marked by the international flags that it waives from its main street along Highway 40
You can detour just before you head up Berthoud Pass
There is are some campgrounds too on Berthoud Pass, which we included in our article on campgrounds near Winter Park, since they reside closer to this Grand County town. Check out Robbers Roost Campground. Winter Park is about 45 minutes from Idaho Springs
and there’s camping close to town there as well
It allows you to ditch I-70 earlier than the rest of the western-bound
Jones Pass is a convenient destination for a primitive summer camping trip
The dispersed campsites are a lot of open meadows
so consider the possible wind when pitching a tent
which put you in the smack center of a bustling mountain county
of which Breck would be the capital – it is the county seat
That’s a roundup of the top camping opportunities in the region surrounding Georgetown
Please respect your campsite and pick up all your trash (and bring it with you) and make sure your fires are completely out
Randy lives up in Wyoming but often comes down to Colorado to visit
He enjoys writing about the best places to camp around the state
Copyright © 2025 · Free Colorado Travel Guide | Vacations, Travel and Tourism · All Rights Reserved
we have a great launching point to talk about the story and themes of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
dramatic landscape by Albert Bierstadt completed between 1865-1869
George Perkins Marsh introduced this idea to the world in his seminal book Man and Nature in 1864
the mentor for the Hudson River School painters
understood the relationship of humans and the environment many years earlier
Paintings like this one were instrumental in the popular preservationacts that followed: the Yosemite Land Grant in 1864
and of course the National Park ServiceOrganic Act of 1916
which we are celebrating the centennial of this year
it's all in the name - Scenery in the Grand Tetons
Perhaps the oddest thing to report about this painting is that is almost certainly not a real "place." There's no record of Bierstadt traveling to theTetons
One can hope he glimpsed the Tetons from afar
but he certainly was not there to paint the scene
it is very similar to some of his workin the California high country
Scenery in the Grand Tetons is most likely a conjectural scene from his extensive travels in the Sierra
Bierstadt was very successful in his lifetime and knew how to sell his art...and a title that captured the imagination about the wonders found in the West was a great sales pitch
While telling a national story (a painting of one national park
Laurance Rockefeller purchased this painting no doubt
his family's ranch at the base of the Tetons
were largely responsible for purchasing the land that became Grand Teton National Park
Each summer after spending six weeks here in Woodstock
Laurance and Mary Rockefeller traveled to the ranch to celebrate their anniversary
Laurance later gave the JY Ranch to the NPS too.The painting also hung here in Woodstock because it fit well with the larger Hudson River School collection Mary Rockefeller's grandparents
it did not irreparably alter the character of the place
but important understanding in historic preservation and cultural resource management that is analogous to the model of natural resource stewardship that Marsh
Bierstadt's Tetons tells more than one story; there is the national story that relates to the creation of national parks and links several parks together
and there is the personal story of families in Vermont
making wise ecologically sound improvement to the their place in the land...and collecting some great art along the way
Albert Bierstadt—He’s a late 19th-century artist
most well-known for his majestic landscape paintings of the Wind River Range
But there's more to him than paintings of grand open spaces
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa
Oklahoma worked together to create an exhibit exploring Bierstadt’s influence on conservation and wildlife management in America
It’s called Albert Bierstadt: Witness to the Changing West
Kamila Kudelska speaks talks to three museum curators as they tell the little-known story of a beloved American artist.
The exhibition opens at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West on June 8
it will move to the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa
we’ll get a second preview of the Bierstadt exhibit.
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One of the most popular 14ers tucked within the Rocky Mountains is the gorgeous Mount Bierstadt stretching up to 14,065 ft
this hike is widely known as the easiest to accomplish while also offering various hiking trails for more seasoned adventurers
Mount Bierstadt has the option of 3 trail routes with the West Slopes being the only Class 2. The shared Bierstadt, Sawtooth, and Blue Sky combo alongside the East Ridge route are both Class 3
The Mount Bierstadt Trail is an out-and-back roundtrip of 15 miles
The hike is considered difficult and with heavy traffic during spring and summer the time may vary
an additional 3 miles will need to be added due to the two seasonal trailheads
Self-issued permits are available at every trailhead and are mandated for anyone within the Mount Evans Wilderness
Backpacking – With various camping locations to choose from
backpackers can make the most of this “easy” mountain while enjoying the local wildlife
Camping – Multiple campground sites are available along both sides of Guanella Pass
with dispersed camping on US Forest and wilderness areas
Fishing – Both lakes and streams offer some fishing locations. Ice fishing is also possible during colder seasons. Before you head up Guanella Pass, try casting in Georgetown Lake in the community of Georgetown
Hiking – Trails are clearly marked providing easy navigation throughout
Be aware of weather reports as well as season due to possible weather changes or remaining snow and ice
There is no shelter along any of the well-maintained trails making hats highly advisable
Trail-running – These particular trails do have increasing difficulty as visitors reach higher elevations
but having well-maintained and clearly marked trails makes trail-running a favored activity amongst guests
Be aware the popularity of Mount Bierstadt in warmer months brings a lot of visitors to the area and trails are to be shared
The southern (Grant) side of Guanella Pass lies within the Pike National Forest, while the northern (Georgetown) side is in the Arapaho National Forest
Address: Arapahoe and Pike National Forests, Clear Creek County
Season: Year-round with seasonal amenities
“Niagara Falls – Only Woman to Tightrope Over Falls” by Charles Bierstadt
– Three brothers sought three dimensions
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1893) sought to transcend perspective
to make the elements in his paintings pop off their supports; through stereography
Charles (1819-1903) and Edward (1824-1906)
“The Bierstadt Brothers: Painting and Photography,” on view at the Hudson River Museum through September 10
sweeping exhibition but it asks some large
sweeping questions about visual culture in the Nineteenth Century – and in the Twenty-First
Ours is an image-driven culture; our species privileges the eye above the other sensory organs
“Seeing is believing” and “Show me” and “Show
don’t tell,” are mantras of human society
with the rise of deep fakes and – just now – broadly available A.I.
we know that we are more susceptible than ever to surfaces that appear real
the nature of reality and the question of authorship find themselves on shaky ground
ground that philosophy and ethics are laboring to catch up with
“us” collectively and “us” as individuals
but it’s also indicative of a hunger that can’t ever be satiated
but FOMO (fear of missing out) is a real thing
We don’t want to be left out and we certainly don’t want to miss out on the new
They – whoever “they” are – have found our weak spot
in the sheer number of images that bombard us
one of the great American painters of any century – and his brothers
pioneers of stereography – wanted American eyes (any eyes
Charles and Edward Bierstadt were born in Solingen
they emigrated with their family to New Bedford
the whaling capital of the world at a time when whale oil lit lamps across the globe
Albert showed promise as an artist and found ready patrons who paid for him to study in Düsseldorf
which was one of the centers of high romanticism
Albert readily imbibed the lofty ideals of the movement that had given rise to artists such as Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840)
Albert saw that the grandeur of the American landscape
might prove an outstanding field for his endeavors
he encouraged Charles and Edward to take up the camera and join him as he roamed America’s wilderness
The stereoscopic camera and viewer are ingenious
The two images produced are not-quite-identical
you can sit at a table and look through a viewer at reproductions of some of Charles and Edward’s stereographs
The effect is as uncanny in 2023 as it must have been in the 1850s
the woman in Charles Bierstadt’s 1876 image
“Niagara Falls – Only Woman to Tightrope Over Falls” seems suspended – with her feet in peach baskets(!) to add to the difficulty – as if walking on air instead of on a tightrope
We know that Albert often counseled Charles and Edward in their stereographic practice
advising them on where to place their special
dual-lensed stereographic camera and how to take advantage of light and shadow to “compose” attractive
especially those of the American landscape
many of whose features would have been new and exciting to viewers
early photographers often worked to achieve painterly effects
believing that emulating painting would ease apprehension about the science and validate the medium as an art form
as the works in the exhibition demonstrate
you can see Albert trying to achieve the dimensionality of the stereograph
In her 2013 essay in Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide
“Seeing in Stereo: Albert Bierstadt and the Stereographic Landscape,” Dr Kirsten Jensen discusses the aesthetic of the advent of the handheld stereoscope
writing that it “brought the image directly to the eye
creating the illusion that there was nothing in between the viewer and the scene; the viewed space became no longer a flat surface with two images pasted on it
but a three-dimensional space that was experienced.” (p
146) She goes on to write that “Bierstadt [Albert] was attempting to create a visual experience of a painted landscape that replicated the personal experience of the handheld stereograph” (p
especially those depicting New Hampshire’s White Mountains
that he would crop out “elements of human progress and of national tensions from his landscape in the same manner as they would be eliminated from stereographic views” (p
“Glenview Facade,” from the “Homes on the Hudson” series by Edward Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt’s “Dawn at Donner Lake
California,” painted circa 1871-73 places the viewer
a pair of words that still conjures at least a vague historical memory of the Donner Party
found themselves trapped by snow and ice and resorted to cannibalizing the dead in order to survive
Bierstadt offers a place that seems never to have seen humanity before the now of the painting
treacherous place with only a spiritual wisp of light off the lake in the distance
the way Bierstadt layers the composition from foreground to background
brings the work closer to the stereographic shades of gray
For further proof of the interplay between Albert Bierstadt’s facture and the photographic practice of his brothers
compare “The Burning Ship,” painted circa 1865
From the moonglow at the edges of the clouds to the shimmer of the moon’s
not to mention the corresponding fire and fire glow on the water at left
we almost seem to see the scene through a porthole
We’re simultaneously as far from J.M.W
Turner’s (1775-1851) burning ships that set the very air ablaze as we are from tightly drawn nautical academic works and illustrations
strangely – at least in experiments with the painterly effects of moonlight – to moodier American painters
proto-modernists like Ralph Albert Blakelock (1847-1919) and Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917) whose paintings compel viewers to make shapes out – both in and of the darkness
What Albert wanted viewers of his paintings to experience
Charles and Edward wanted to broadcast to the wider world
and especially to the nation’s rising middle class
Charles and Albert sought to capture thrilling moments
such as the tightrope walk across Niagara Falls
and views of fancy hotels and lavish residences
including views of Glenview – part of the Hudson River Museum – views which were used to help restore the interior of that Gilded Age mansion
even as they sought to bring an expansive dimensionality to their respective mediums – both in subject matter and form – also sought to make the experience of them feel at least somewhat intimate
is an 1859 Bierstadt Brothers photo of Albert
sitting at an easel working on a small oil that looks as though it might be a study for one of the immense landscapes he painted after his trip West with the Lander Expedition in 1959
Prospective patrons look on as Albert works
one of which looks very much like a stereograph of the landscape Bierstadt paints
We don’t know if his brothers accompanied Albert
but we do know he brought back stereoscopic views
A stereograph of a painter painting a painting of a landscape
a painter taking as reference a stereograph of the landscape he is painting
The infinite regressiveness in this reflexivity is staggering
revealing dimensions to astute viewers who might well feel that they and they alone
is what Twenty-First Century algorithms are built to provide
The Bierstadt Brothers sit at a pivotal point
when technology began to flip “Seeing is Believing” into its opposite “Believing is Seeing.” From its first birth pangs
photography wanted us to believe in the truth of its imagery
despite digital manipulations that can morph anything into anything else
Artists in other media soon learned to adapt what they could from photography in order to make viewers believe in the truth of their art
The reactions against realism and the academy – from impressionism to all the isms of abstraction – might also be seen as reactions against photography
“The Bierstadt Brothers: Painting and Photography” might well be the first of many exhibitions that trace the interplay between traditional and technological art forms
The Hudson River Museum is at 511 Warburton Avenue. For information, 914-963-4550 or www.hrm.org
A Grand Reopening — The Frick Collection
‘Banners of Liberty’ Revolutionary War Flags Gather At Museum Of The American Revolution
Turner Exhibition Reopens Yale’s Center For British Art
HistoryNet
Western landscape artist Albert Bierstadt justly earned international fame in the 19th century
one of two paintings he rendered in 1888–89
sold at the time for $50,000—“the highest price,” art historian Peter H
“ever paid for an American piece of art in the 19th century.” Yet even before the 72-year-old artist’s death in 1902 his work had fallen out of favor and very nearly out of memory
Not until the 1960s did art historians begin to reevaluate and revere his works
eventually followed by a major exhibition in the early 1990s at the Brooklyn Museum
the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the National Gallery of Art in Washington
“He’s remembered much more fondly than he has been over past generations,” Hassrick says
Bierstadt immigrated with his parents as an infant to New Bedford
He showed an early interest in painting and in 1853 went back to Düsseldorf
where he befriended artists Thomas Worthington Whittredge and Sanford Robinson Gifford while studying under Emanuel Leutze (Washington Crossing the Delaware)
In 1857 Bierstadt returned to the United States
where became an honorary member of the National Academy of Design and participated in the Hudson River School art movement
His career was cemented two years later when he accompanied Colonel Frederick W
Lander’s expedition to chart an overland trail to Oregon
On his return East he opened a studio in Manhattan’s 10th Street Studio Building
where he began painting his monumental Western landscapes
His impressive 1863 vista The Rocky Mountains
Lander’s Peak sold for a then astounding $25,000
“Bierstadt was one of the highest-selling artists of the 19th century,” affirms Laura F
senior curator and curator of art at the Gilcrease
“His work inspired a wide reaction during his lifetime and to the present.”
‘Even the small paintings have such presence that they feel monumental in a way’
were emotionally healing for Americans embroiled in and recovering from the Civil War
this thing we call the United States of America has something special’—we call it today ‘American exceptionalism’—and that was its landscape
though they are often referred to as exaggerations and fantasies and so forth
were a way of helping salve the conscience of a nation that had been profoundly split apart.”
“Bierstadt is known best as a landscape painter,” McWhorter says
“Even the small paintings have such presence that they feel monumental in a way
I think he stands apart from most of his contemporaries
His landscapes look like places that they are meant to represent
But they also elevate the landscape beyond a worldly dimension
They become this place that’s effused with ethereal light
The scale has just been expanded and extended in every direction
“It shows how he was—more so than most artists of his day—aware of the impact of the changes occurring in the West in the late 19th century,” explains Fry
Inducted in 1888 as a charter member into the Boone and Crockett Club
a still active wildlife conservation group
Bierstadt joined naturalist/writer George Bird Grinnell and future President Theodore Roosevelt in the club’s efforts to effect legislation against the poaching of Yellowstone National Park bison
“Bierstadt’s first trip west of the Mississippi,” Fry says
He got to see those bison in those very large numbers
and as he continued traveling west during those next decades
he would have seen those numbers drastically decline.” While Bierstadt lacked both Grinnell’s gift with words and Roosevelt’s clout
he used his talent with brushes and palette to create The Last of the Buffalo
“This painting really brought together the major themes of his career and called for action to prevent this species from extinction,” Fry says
“We hope the exhibition will shed light to audiences on how artists can change the way we think about the world around us.” WW
Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers
In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earhart’s disappearance
2,000-mile horseback journey from the Pony Express stables in St
William Frederick Cody (1846-1917) led a signal life
from his youthful exploits with the Pony Express and in service as a U.S
Army scout to his globetrotting days as a showman and international icon Buffalo Bill
“History is a guide to navigation in perilous times
History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”
HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the world’s largest publisher of history magazines
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The Department of Art and Art History presents an Edwin L
Weisl Lectureship in the Arts sponsored by the Robert Lehman Foundation
Spencer Wigmore '11 is Curator of Fine Art Collections at the Minnesota Historical Society in Saint Paul
Previously he was the Associate Curator of Paintings
and Works on Paper at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art
where he curated nearly a dozen exhibitions
including Trespassers: James Prosek of the Texas Prairie
he earned his PhD in art history from the University of Delaware
This talk is taken from his current book project
which reconstructs Bierstadt’s previously unknown life as a land speculator
The project offers a novel interpretation of Bierstadt's large-scale exhibition pictures of the 1860s-70s
the often maligned aspects of Bierstadt’s paintings — their schematic brushwork
and inattentive naturalism — harbor underexamined complexity and creative ingenuity
They reveal the extent to which Bierstadt’s art constituted a unique exploration of the representational conventions of land speculation
while posing new questions about the purposes of landscape painting in the settler-colonial American West
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Take your family to new heights while attempting a quintessential Colorado adventure
my exhausted seven-year-old son collapsed on a gray rock and rested his head in his hands
and driving an hour and a half to the Mount Bierstadt trailhead
An outdoor enthusiast with a zeal for hiking
I’d been itching to bag a 14er since I’d learned Colorado was flush with them
during the brief season when it’s safest for amateurs to hike 14ers
Mom,” as the hot summer days waned into August
Jon had been complaining of a stomach ache since we’d inched above tree line
Recognizing nausea as a sign of altitude sickness—but knowing Jon’s spirit would be crushed if he failed—I was at a loss
we’d take turns summiting while the other parent waited with Jon
That’s when a thin man with an altimeter walked by and joyfully announced
“800 meters to go!” Unaware 800 meters was almost half a mile
“A 14er is a peak that’s 14,000 feet or taller
generally more than a quarter mile from the next nearest peak
and at least 300 feet above the low point between the nearest
taller peak,” explains Denver-based writer Chris Meehan
author of Climbing Colorado’s Fourteeners: From the Easiest Hikes to the Most Challenging Climbs
who hiked his first 14er (Longs Peak) when he was 19
His passion for mountaineering stretches back to the 1970s
“My folks tell a tale of when I was about four years old
and I wandered off on vacation in Maine and hiked around Cadillac Mountain for an hour while they were looking for me,” Meehan says
Meehan had plenty of opportunities to hike during childhood
and he’s a big advocate for connecting kids with trails
Climbing Colorado’s Fourteeners is ideal for families
as it ranks Colorado’s 14ers from easiest to hardest
there are roughly 90 peaks higher than 14,000 feet
the Centennial State claims 53 to 58 14ers
Colorado’s 14ers are special because many are extremely accessible
with well-marked and maintained trails leading to summits that can be tackled in a single day
you won’t need advanced climbing skills or mountaineering equipment—just performance clothing
For families with children in elementary through middle school
Meehan suggests starting with a 14er that’s less than 10 miles out and back
Mount Democrat near Alma is one of Colorado’s shortest 14ers
assuming you don’t combine it with Mounts Cameron (a pseudo-14er) and Lincoln
Meehan also recommends Mount Sherman near Fairplay
Other beginner-friendly 14ers include Grays
and Mount Elbert near Leadville—all have trailheads within 1.5 to 2.5 hours from Denver
“beginner-friendly” doesn’t mean “easy.” It takes physical and mental stamina to summit any peak higher than 14,000 feet
But with enough water and plenty of breaks
My son bagged Mount Bierstadt with Ben and me on August 2
moderately trafficked trail extending from the Mount Bierstadt trailhead south of Georgetown
the peak was a perfect induction into 14ers
Bierstadt’s trail weaves through green tundra
offering ample wildlife viewing opportunities
Listen for piercing chirps coming from marmots and pika
the latter of which can be seen scurrying across trails
be prepared to pass the time with stories and make-believe games
Jon loves when I recount memories from my childhood
personal narratives were a welcome distraction
and I hike frequently with our younger son
and one of our favorite hiking games involves pretending we’re explorers discovering a mountain taller than Everest
We use invisible walkie-talkies to communicate with base camp while attempting to “rescue” lost members from our team
but our kids don’t whine when they’re engrossed in games
your child probably won’t love high-altitude hiking unless he or she is a willing participant
ask yourself if your child is ready for an intense adventure
If you haven’t mastered low-altitude hikes along the Front Range
Always be prepared to turn around if you or your child truly need to descend
“There’s no shame in coming back another time,” Meehan says
you’re instilling in your child more than a love for the great outdoors
Climbing a 14er requires hours of physical exertion
and reaching a summit is a huge accomplishment for children of all ages
There’s no shortage of lessons to be gleaned while hiking
There will be moments when your child feels tired and hungry
and you might encounter a false summit that tests your mental stamina and self-esteem
Bagging a 14er is a lesson in perseverance—one demanding patience
the experience offers up some great on-trail talking points
And then there’s the massive amount of family bonding that occurs
I’ve watched my son progress from binkies to spelling tests
and he’ll be too old to play Legos with Mom
Catching a day of uninterrupted family time—making a memory that’ll last long after Jon’s left for college—that’s the payoff for us
the following are non-negotiable items to pack for the trip up a 14er
You can purchase inexpensive items at Target or Walmart
but you’ll find a better selection at outdoor specialty shops like REI
Meehan recommends light hikers or trail runners over thick and heavy boots
which can be uncomfortable and aren’t necessary on beginner-friendly routes
Remember to “leave no trace” when you hike them; packing out trash and excrement ensures 14ers retain their natural luster
hikers are seriously injured or die attempting Colorado 14ers
which is why it’s important to follow these safety guidelines
Jamie Siebrase is a Denver-based freelance writer
Your Weekly guide to Colorado family fun. Colorado Parent has a newsletter for every parent. Sign Up
“The Landing of Columbus” by Albert Bierstadt
Ackerman Coles gifted two Albert Bierstadt paintings to the city of Plainfield in memory of his father
The city has been longing to sell the two works collectively worth $20 million
though an appeals court ruled July 20 in favor of a previous ruling
“The Landing of Columbus” and “Autumn in the Sierras” are monumental
They were held in a charitable trust by the city and displayed in local buildings
The city wanted to sell them to fund a financial literacy program
The city argued that “The Landing of Columbus” depicted “racist implications” and its display would cause irreparable harm to people of color in its community
“We are not convinced by the city’s argument that current social perceptions of Columbus render the continued ownership of the paintings impracticable
The city is free to display the painting in any location it chooses
Even if the city decides not to display the painting
it can be donated to a museum where it can be appreciated and valued for its artistic value – consistent with the original intent behind the donation.”
The city is required by New Jersey state law to ask the court’s permission to sell the paintings
“if Coles intended to support education in the city
he would likely have made a monetary donation or bequest
It is highly unlikely that Coles would be amendable to the sale of the paintings treasured by him and donated to the city in the memory of his father.”
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as many as 100 people were on the three-mile trail that ascends 2,400 feet from the parking lot on Guanella Pass
The mountain is extremely popular in the summer because of its short
walking approach and its proximity to Denver
hikers try to be off the summits of the rockies by noon
But Denver and the Colorado Front Range have been experiencing severe thunderstorms for the last four days that have produced serious flooding
a group of 17 people were struck by lightning on Wyoming’s Grand Teton
all of the injured had been evacuated or walked back to their cars
and tech with access to unlimited digital content from Outside Network's iconic brands
The German-born painter cast light on the extraordinary beauty of his adopted homeland
It took a foreign-born painter to show Americans the greatest wonders of their land
Despite the doctrine of “manifest destiny”
animals and the indigenous peoples – was subject to the will of westward-pushing white settlers
the majority of mid-19th-century East Coasters had little idea of the majesty of the Rocky Mountains
The grandeur of such places was revealed to them by Albert Bierstadt
“Truly all is remarkable and a wellspring of amazement and wonder,” he said
“Man is so fortunate to dwell in this American Garden of Eden.”
Bierstadt (1830-1902) was well qualified as a judge of Edens because he was familiar with the marvels of the old world as well as the new
his family moved to Massachusetts when he was a year old
returned to Düsseldorf to train as a painter
He was going to seek instruction from Peter Hasenclever
but his would-be master died while Bierstadt was mid-Atlantic
Instead he was mentored by a pair of artists from home
the German-American Emanuel Leutze (the man responsible for the celebrated 1851 image of Washington Crossing the Delaware) and the Hudson River School painter Worthington Whittredge
With their help and that of other Düsseldorf artists who together formed a loose school known as the Malkasten (paint box)
Bierstadt progressed so quickly that some of the paintings he sent back to the United States were thought to be by Whittredge
and it took a string of letters from his Germany-based friends to prove his authorship
Bierstadt joined Whittredge on a sketching tour that took in not just Italy but
On his return to the US it was a painting of a Swiss scene
exhibited at the National Academy of Design
And Europe’s mountain scenery was fresh in his mind when
he joined a government survey party under Frederick W Lander heading for the Rockies in search of a new railway route
The oil sketches and stereo-photographs (his brothers Edward and Charles were both eminent photographers) made on the trip formed the basis for a series of huge panoramas that quickly gained Bierstadt a high reputation and fees to match
he unveiled the epic vistas of the American West and discovered a formula that encapsulated the prelapsarian nature of these realms
often populated with native Americans or animals
waterfalls and forests to distant vertiginous peaks
He would unify the scene with atmospheric effects – storms or ethereal light – that frequently tipped into the theatrical
writing wryly that “Some of Mr Bierstadt’s mountains swim in a lustrous pearly mist
which is so enchantingly beautiful that I am sorry the Creator hadn’t made it instead”
and calling his The Domes of Yosemite (1867)
considerably more beautiful than the original”
the public appetite for Bierstadt’s work was voracious
His immersive pictures – often more than three metres wide – commanded huge sums
and on a trip to England in 1867 he was invited to a private audience with Queen Victoria to show off two of his works
was exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and later in Berlin
a visionary confection of silvery mountains
has been credited with encouraging European emigration to the US
To raise the profile and price of a painting
Bierstadt would leak stories about it to the press
inviting his audience into a darkened room
unveil it with a flourish from behind velvet curtains
This astute Barnum side to his practice did not always play well with his critics
who accused him of bolstering his art with the “vast machinery of advertisement and puffery”
Bierstadt made several other trips out West
“in search of a subject for a great Rocky Mountain picture” – was with the photographer and hashish addict Fitz Hugh Ludlow
The eight-month expedition was arduous and in an 1890 edition of the Magazine of Western History William Newton Byers
who guided Bierstadt on a supplementary excursion
left an account of both the hardships involved and the painter’s almost ecstatic response to what he saw
Byers and Bierstadt had spent a wet and trying day near Idaho Springs (“His enthusiasm was badly dampened”) when they debouched from the forest at a spot known to Byers
who stood aside to watch Bierstadt’s reaction as he emerged and saw the view: “He said nothing
but his face was a picture of intense life and excitement
glanced quickly to see where the jack was that carried his paint outfit
walked sideways to it and began fumbling at the lash-ropes
all the time keeping his eyes on the scene up the valley
‘I must get a study in colours; it will take me 15 minutes!’ He said nothing more.”
Bierstatdt worked feverishly for 45 minutes
and then headed up the valley to make further sketches
only stopping to tickle trout – 18 of them – for their supper
was the major work to emerge from the expedition
In its over-egged way it captures the almost hallucinatory atmosphere that greeted the painter
a near biblical revelation of drama and sublimity with clouds “so low that they were being torn and riven” by the mountain points and broken clouds driven “in rolling masses through the storm-drift”
This bravura piece of work sold for the enormous sum of $20,000
shown far more dagger-like than in reality
was named by Bierstadt in favour of his wife-to-be but the honour didn’t last; it was later renamed Mount Evans after a governor of Colorado (and is shortly to be rechristened Mount Blue Sky)
Bierstadt’s happiness and fame proved transient too
In 1876 Rosalie started to show the first effects of tuberculosis and was advised to pass the winter months in Nassau in the Bahamas
where Bierstadt would visit her and paint the very different local scenery
a fire destroyed his house and studio overlooking the Hudson River
Her death coincided with a decline in critical acclaim which had become apparent when the committee charged with selecting US works for the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris rejected his cinematic painting of a native American hunting expedition
This was a painting that encapsulated his conviction that: “Christ is one with His creatures and so man must treat his fellow creatures as Christ would
The continual slaughter of native species must be halted before all is lost.” Ironically
by advertising the natural wonders of the American west
Bierstadt had inadvertently endangered them too
[See also: Eric Ravilious’s visions of war and peace in England]
This article appears in the 07 Sep 2022 issue of the New Statesman, Liz Truss Unchained
The highest priced item of the day was Albert Bierstadt’s oil on canvas of “The Matterhorn.” The circa 1855 painting brought $40,950
Additional Photos Courtesy of Marion Antique Auctions
– Frank McNamee of the Marion Antique Shop and Dave Glynn
teamed up for another Thanksgiving weekend sale on November 30
They do two or three sales a year under the name of Marion Antique Auctions
and all the merchandise is fresh to the market
That probably accounts for the active bidding – live
and he’s been doing it for a while; he started when he was 15
McNamee and Glynn have been friends and have been involved with the antiques business since they were teenagers
This sale included a collection of Twentieth Century Italian glass
early Scottish and other European firearms
Some of the scrimshaw had been consigned by the New Bedford Whaling Museum
and there were numerous sets of silver flatware
But best of all was a life-sized Steiff horse
You probably haven’t seen a stuffed horse this large
The photo shows that he’s taller than Frank McNamee
The horse had been in the window of the F.A.O
and in 1989 it was donated to a charity auction for the benefit of children at Bellevue Hospital
It was purchased by the consignor’s mother and when the children lost interest
but it would be a great conversation piece
A phone bidder took advantage of the lack of interest in the room and bought it for just $585
We don’t expect to see another one any time soon
The highest priced item of the day was “The Matterhorn” by Albert Bierstadt
It depicted the massive mountain in the Swiss Alps in a landscape surrounded by forest and clouds
The painting brought far over the estimate
who had come down a couple of days prior to the sale to examine it in person
Bringing less money but popular in the Marion area and Cape Cod was a painting by Martha Cahoon (1905-1999)
Her work is similar to that of her husband
and her oil painting of a festive winter scene with a horse-drawn sleigh
farm buildings and skaters on a pond earned $2,808
The sale started off with scrimshaw and related marine items
a carved wooden folk art figure of Abe Lincoln
A buyer in the room was successful on several of the scrimshawed whale’s teeth
one of which showed the Boston Sloop of War on one side
and the second tooth depicted the Rhode Island Hotel on one side
Both were about 6 inches long and decorated on both sides; this pair brought $3,276
The same buyer in the room paid $1,755 for a tooth just under 7 inches long that showed a busy port scene with four ships on one side and a European city scene on the other side
Several lots of Twentieth Century scrimshaw were deaccessioned by the New Bedford Whaling Museum and were being sold to benefit the museum’s acquisition fund
Two teeth by scrimshaw artist Roberta Dutra
She was an art teacher for 36 years in the New Bedford school system
sold with the scrimshaw portion of the sale was a circa 1840 portrait of a sea captain holding a telescope
One of the higher priced items in the sale was this watercolor by Lionel Feinnger
It was signed and titled “Farewell” and finished at $15,795
There was not a lot of early furniture in the sale
but a complex Dutch tall case clock made by Daniel Perrin
with a domed bonnet and fretwork and a burl walnut and mahogany veneered case reached $4,563
a calendar movement with moon phase and a date
An Eighteenth Century heavily restored spice cabinet with replaced feet
drawers and molding was in need of still more work
But it had good old butterfly hinges and an older reddish surface
and the right person could get it looking good
It’s safe to assume that one of the consignors was of Scottish descent
The group of firearms included several early Scottish examples
A pair of late Eighteenth Century steel flintlock pistols
A circa 1710 .60 caliber flintlock pistol in original condition with ramrod brought $2,106
A circa 1760-70 English brass barreled flintlock blunderbuss
signed “Webb and Riggs” and with sliver and wire inlay realized $2,223
Probably from the same Scottish collector came four lots of Scottish silver-mounted horn snuff boxes
two especially noteworthy towards the end of the day and particularly for book dealers
And one other lot proved that things sold at auction tend to average out
Most came from the estate of Calvin Bullock
a wealthy stockbroker and owner of 1 Wall Street
Of particular interest was a complete boxed set of 88 issues of Charles Dickens’ Master Humphrey’s Clock
a monthly magazine Dickens published of short stories
The “narrator” of the tales is Master Humphrey
who describes his daily life and his encounters with vivid characters
The clock in the title is his old companion
Sets of this publication are listed online between $1,600 and $7,500; this one sold for $1,112
Also in this part of the sale was a leather-bound first edition of The House at Pooh Corner by A.A
It was cataloged as having only “minor loss to the spine” and sold for $234
Our review of the Boston book fair [See Antiques and The Arts Weekly
2019] noted that a set of the four Pooh books
and Skinner’s book sale included a similar set that sold for just under $5,000
The Bullock library also included three copies of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
One was a signed first edition in a clipped dust jacket that had some minor wear
Dave Glynn later said he thought that the color of this particular dust jacket was the reason it did so well
Glynn said he believed that overall results were solid
The guy that bought the Bierstadt is really happy
And the Steiff horse is going to a good home where he’ll have real horses for company
but there wasn’t much interest in the abstract paintings
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house
For information, 671-748-3606 or www.marionantiqueauctions.com
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most of what was known back East about the far side of the Continental Divide came from the missives of early settlers and explorers like Lewis & Clark
who wrote about their 1804-06 excursion in extensive reports to President Thomas Jefferson who had commissioned the expedition to explore and map the newly acquired territory
This journal passage from an 1805 June day in Montana makes it easy to see why their coverage inspired a rush:
the wildlife and the residents of the land the newcomers encountered
these were essentially documentary in nature
rather than expressive or literary and lyrical
The works most people encountered from this time tended to resemble European academic standards of likeness and realism and depicted monumental landmarks like waterfalls
mountain ranges and sweeping plains in a way that was geared toward description and reportage
Classic American Western landscape painting as it came to be recognized had not yet matured into the full-blown genre of wildness
That would come in the late 19th century when westward expansion increased
along with the arrival of more settlers and railroads
the propaganda that compelled these newcomers increased and towns sprang up alongside the Westward migration that ensued
All of this was tied up in the volatile situations and cultural agendas with regard to the First Nation peoples and the follow-on effects of the Civil War
The proto-cinematic allure of the Wild West as both a place and an idea was fully championed starting in the mid-late 19th century
and soon enough populated with a cast of archetypal characters (cowboys
farmers and Native Americans) that would soon codify into the enduring iconography we still know today
This came along with a stylistic revolution as well
as the palette and surreal contours of the desert especially inspired a new generation of artists with the uniqueness of its light
palette and geology — which had no analog in the Indo-European tradition
and required a new language of line and color
next year sees the Autry opening the much-anticipated exhibition “Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley” (March 30
David Bradley (who is Minnesota Chippewa) has been a recognized voice from Indian Country
“confronts through his art questions of identity
self-determination and self-representation
as well as definitions of “traditional” Indian art
Drawing influence from diverse sources such as Santa Fe-style painting of the 1930s-40s
who acquired the painting in 1873 for "The Locusts," the family estate County
PBS SoCal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.Tax ID: 95-2211661
Albert Bierstadt's "Giant Redwood Trees of California" is among a group of artworks that the Berkshire Museum hopes to sell to help meet its goal of raising $55 million to secure the institution's future
PITTSFIELD — How has the Berkshire Museum loved thee
'Giant Redwood Trees of California' by Albert Bierstadt?It has
"Giant Redwood Trees of California" by Albert Bierstadt
greeted the new institution's first visitors
Bierstadt had died the year before and gone to his grave in New Bedford
But this example of the immigrant artist's repeated explorations of the American West lived on in Pittsfield
"Giant Redwood Trees of California," a notable example of the Hudson River School
Just how the museum has valued Bierstadt's work has toggled lately between reverence for its interpretive value and interest in what it can fetch in cash
Correspondence between the museum and the office of Attorney General Maura Healey in April
May and June details changing calculations that museum leaders made in selecting the 22 works already sold or still facing transfer
as the institution drives to obtain $55 million in net proceeds from private sales and auctions
copies of which were provided by the museum and Healey's office
cite a desire to retain the Bierstadt painting
enabling it to be featured in new interdisciplinary exhibits the museum plans as part of its "New Vision."
took pains to note that it would not sell Bierstadt's painting in a first round
though it had been valued for auction at $1.5 million to $2.5 million
Museum trustees wanted to keep the painting
because it would be of use in presenting New Vision exhibits
He stressed that the work might still have to be sold to hit the museum's financial target
"This 1874 painting depicts Native Americans in an old growth redwood forest
suggesting an era before the arrival of Europeans," the WilmerHale lawyer wrote
new populations would arrive in the region by the millions
and 95% of such redwood forests would fall to logging
as redwood lumber is prized for its light weight and durability," Lee wrote
Then he got to the painting's hefty interpretive value: "These developments evoke rich interpretive themes including the collision of civilizations
and how different civilizations have adapted to — or altered — their ecologies
While other works could also further such interpretive goals
this painting is one of the 39 remaining works with comparatively greater interpretive value
and thus the Museum prioritized it for retention."
a professor of art at Arizona State University
said he first saw "Giant Redwood Trees of California" when he visited the Berkshire Museum more than 40 years ago while working on his dissertation
He later devoted a chapter to the painting in his 1991 book "Masterpieces of Western American Art."
who more often painted horizons and mountains
But the scene set in what is now called Mariposa Grove conveys majesty nonetheless
"The trees were so huge that you couldn't paint the tops of them," he said
including his representation of Native Americans in the scene
"Those people had already been exterminated."
But the artist's audience at the time wanted romance and a sense of American grandeur
It's a fictional painting which serves a big cultural purpose," he said
"The trees symbolize the idea that they were God's cathedrals
You have all that wonderful glowing light."
the first auctions and private sales in May
plus the April sale of Norman Rockwell's "Shuffleton's Barbershop," did not bring the expected $55 million
the glowing light in the Bierstadt frame may have started to dim
Lee pointed out again that the museum opted not to put the Bierstadt painting up for sale despite the fact that its sale estimate alone was higher than the combined values of nine of the 13 works chosen for May sales
messages from the museum about the Bierstadt work have been mixed
Lee notes that when the institution's Collections Committee voted last July to deaccession 40 works of art
it did so because "the Museum could continue fulfilling its mission without the works."
the Bierstadt painting was among the first listed for auction last November at Sotheby's
until that sale was halted by a Massachusetts Appeals Court judge at the request of Healey's office
Two months after extolling the teaching power of "Giant Redwood Trees of California," Lee and the museum had a different message for Healey's office
It came when he filed a June 15 report on plans for a second round of sales
as allowed under the agreement upheld April 5 by Associate Justice David A
Lowy of the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County
It fell to Lee to tell Healey's office which artworks would be sold in a second batch
in an effort to push proceeds all the way to $55 million
trustees met and asked museum staff to pick works for a second round of sales
who retired Thursday from his position as executive director without previous public notice
They checked with Sotheby's to learn which remaining works might be of most interest to public institutions
furthering a desire to keep the artworks accessible to the public
collections experience manager; and Logan Recchia
collections associate registrar — had a list
the Collections Committee weighed the competing values — interpretive versus financial proceeds — and backed the plan
the trustees went over the same considerations and decided they had to sell the Bierstadt painting
in part because they received less than they expected for "Shuffleton's Barbershop" and from other May auctions
"The Board concluded that it would be impossible to raise $55 million without selling the two deaccessioned works with the highest financial value," Lee wrote in his letter to Healey's office
the board tried to balance the considerations of interpretive and financial values
the museum judged that it could not hit $55 million "without selling the two most financially valuable deaccessioned works."
That meant the Bierstadt and Thomas Moran's "The Last Arrow." Moran's 1867 oil-on-canvas painting
had received auction estimates of $2 million to $3 million when up for sale last November
Lee set out to explain why it suited the museum to sell a painting — "Giant Redwoods of California" — that
had been characterized as able to "evoke rich interpretive themes" and which held "comparatively greater interpretive value."
were removed as not being essential to fulfilling the museum's mission
it is possible to choose among the works and identify those most likely to support the Museum's interdisciplinary goals."
Then he noted works that are not yet listed for sale
while not quite promising that they wouldn't be part of a third allowable batch of works — the lawyers borrow a word from high finance and call them "tranches" — to be sold
"In selecting items to include in this second tranche
the Museum has considered the interpretive value of each of the remaining works
While the second tranche includes Albert Bierstadt's 'Giant Redwood Trees of California,' the Museum has elected to continue to retain
other similar (though less valuable) deaccessioned works."
the founding president of the Berkshire Natural Resources Council revealed in a letter to the editor that he had lobbied the museum to keep Bierstadt's painting in Pittsfield
echoing sentiments in Lee's April 10 letter to Healey's office
"This painting of the redwoods is of huge importance in understanding the need (desire) to protect wilderness," George Wislocki wrote
He said he had met twice with museum staff members to propose that the painting be part of an exhibit devoted to Berkshire forests
"The exhibit could inform visitors how the Berkshire landscape has changed over centuries as well as efforts today to save family farms and forests," Wislocki wrote
The Albany Institute of History & Art is showing works representing the Hudson River School
"The Hudson River School ultimately helped shape an American identity," a note on the exhibition explains
said the Bierstadt work captures a moment in American history and art
He believes the painting ought to stay in the Berkshires — and feels the same way about other works pulled from the collection
but insist they acted to save an institution on the verge of closing
Though he lives and works in the lands Bierstadt once wandered
Sweeney said he has followed news of the museum's art sales and believes them to be misguided
"It's such a shame that painting is leaving the museum," he said
"It's one of the most deplorable developments in the history of American art
In each of his three reports to date to Healey's office
the museum's lawyer gives thanks for the way months of litigation turned out
"to replenish the Museum's endowment and renovate its aging building so that the Museum will continue to serve the community for many years to come."
Larry Parnass can be reached at lparnass@berkshireeagle.com
at @larryparnass on Twitter and 413-496-6214
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and rescued after surviving seven nights in the cold
So one man drapes her across his shoulders
He jumps from boulder to boulder on blistered feet
then for the couple that found her on the verge of death—and vowed to bring her down the mountain alive
They returned expecting to carry her the entire way
After surviving eight days and seven nights alone at 13,000 feet
Bierstadt as she had climbed them—under her own power
But in the early hours after Scott and Amanda Washburn found her
she was just a nameless German Shepherd with paws more like bloody ribbons of flesh and a case of dehydration so severe that her saliva was blue
but they didn’t have the strength—the terrain was just too taxing
“We figured we’d find a Park Service Ranger to help us carry her out,” Scott says
But the first Ranger they met dashed their hopes
He said they couldn’t risk people to save a dog
The Washburns would have to let nature run her course
Amanda wasn’t willing to accept that answer. So on their drive back to Denver, she called everyone she could think of—from animal control to search and rescue—to no avail. Out of ideas, they went to the 14ers forum
It included a picture of Lucky along with a description of her condition and information where she was found
He asked people to give Lucky food and water if they came across her
and he gave out his phone number to organize a rescue
And his post was made only minutes after he first joined the site
and I knew I had to do it right now,” he says
and two to strangers who had offered their help on the thread
At 11:30 p.m., they met at the trailhead and set off into the night. Over on the website, some called it suicide. To get to Lucky, they’d have to climb 3,900 feet up Mt. Bierstadt—a climb peaking at 14,264 feet—and then descend down 900 feet to Sawtooth Ridge
which wouldn’t be easy going—it’s Class III terrain
they’d have to figure out a way to carry her (she had been uncooperative with the Washburns)
and up 900 feet before descending the mountain
He was confident in his plan as the foursome rushed up the mountain
Scott had planned an assault for the following morning
but with the weather dipping to 20 degrees
it wasn’t clear Lucky could wait that long
With all the manpower dedicated to Vail’s mission
they were going for broke—there would be no try the next morning
Vail and company summited the mountain at 1:15 a.m
The four men broke off and began searching in a grid pattern—down
They hoped to catch Lucky’s eyes with their headlamps and spot the reflection
A false step on unstable rock wouldn’t be pretty
For three hours and fifteen minutes they scoured the mountain in 20-degree weather
they made the excruciating decision to abandon the search
“It was devastating—a quiet hike back down.”
Eleven hours after Vail saw Scott’s post on 14ers.com
He writes that he passed two men struggling with a dog on the mountain seven days ago
and the men were using a rope and harness to lower her from boulder to boulder
one of men says “I think I’m going to bail.” He’s 95 percent sure the dog is Lucky
Nobody knew what to make of the story—what happened to Lucky’s owner
Eight strangers will meet at the Guanella Pass trailhead at 5:00 a.m
They’ll bring their packs and hope to find one that Lucky will fit in
Then they will make their way up to find her
Based on Vail’s failed attempt and the post detailing just how long Lucky has been on the mountain
“I was trying not to get my hopes up,” Scott says
Nestled between the rocks and sheltered from the wind
But Amanda was careful to take her bearings before leaving her two days ago
Stefan Kleinschuster spots her almost immediately
They give her a liter of water to drink and some food to eat
the hard part; they have to carry her up 900 feet and then down the mountain
Ten minutes of work leaves Scott exhausted
A volunteer who chose not to follow Scott onto the Sawtooth reports that they’ve found a dog
A post on Amanda’s Facebook pages confirms the good news
it looks like the story has run its course
But critical questions remain unanswered: How did a dog get stuck at 13,000 feet
millions of unknown animals are killed in pounds and shelters
Some owners turn their pets in—the costs go up
Others are abandoned and nameless when they arrive
It is safe to say that Lucky’s owner could have stayed anonymous
he did something courageous and unexpected
Anthony Ortolani came forward to the 14ers forum
begged for forgiveness—and asked for Lucky back
he’s been vilified on the Internet and been the recipient of death threats
And the media hasn’t tried to tell his story
But in the beginning—before things blew up—he was
Ortolani and a teenage companion hike up Mt
Bierstadt and make their way over the Sawtooth ridge
it’s unclear when the problems truly began
but they reach a critical point as “[Lucky’s] paws got bloodied up right in the belly of the Sawtooth.” A few hikers stop to offer help and then leave because of the weather
Ortolani and his friend use ropes and a harness to lower Lucky from boulder to boulder but “she was hurting herself worse against the rocks sprawling out and catching them with her legs.” Eventually
she stops moving and Ortolani picks “her up on my shoulders and was hopping from boulder to boulder.” But Lucky falls
He realizes he cannot carry her down the mountain
I made the decision that I honestly never thought I would ever be faced with,” he writes
“I left her there so that my friend and I could get down safely with intentions for calling S&R when we were off of the mountain.”
So after two exhausting hours of trying to save Lucky
Nobody is going to send up a human crew to save a dog
Almost every story has an inflection point
a moment that could have changed everything
Rather than making his way back up the mountain to save Lucky
he Googles “Dog found on Bierstadt” for a few days after leaving her on the mountain
THE ESTABLISHED STORY DOESN’T look very good for Ortolani
and then asks for her back once somebody else finds her
The details paint a far more complicated picture
She and Ortolani hiked six 14ers before tackling Bierstadt
And they didn’t approach the mountain on a whim
Ortolani did “a Web search on crossing the Sawtooth with my dog” before setting out on the hike—which is more than many hikers do
The site he found was supportive of his plan
It suggested hikers have a rope and harness—which he did—but that’s all
He struggled with her for over two hours on the mountain
He didn’t drop her off at a shelter or abandon her in the streets
And when he made the decision to leave her
he gave her three bottles of his water—reserving only a liter for himself and his friend
the easier it is to picture yourself in his position
We always return to the most basic question: Why didn’t he go back
Not only was Ortolani physically unable to attempt another climb—his sister
and his employer all mentioned he had trouble walking post-Bierstadt—but his employer had him traveling out of state the next day
writing: “I had the misfortune to demanding that he go out of state to work on a project that involved many other people and could not be postponed or cancelled
He wanted to return to look for Missy but he had no choice in the matter
It seems that Ortolani couldn’t make it back up the mountain himself
But why couldn’t he put together a rescue attempt
Posters on the forum forgave his decision to hike Bierstadt with Lucky
they can understand that he had to leave her
Some may even realize that he couldn’t skip work to save her
But no strangers came forward supporting his decision to sit quiet
we may never know exactly what Ortolani was thinking at the time
But he did explain one thing after the fact: He believed Lucky was dead
He knew his friends were not “outdoors people.” And he wasn’t going to risk their lives on a doomed mission
and bringing others into it seemed as bad as good,” he wrote
“If the rescuers will not put their lives in jeopardy
it didn’t really seem all that wise to ask my friends and family to do the same.”
he gave her up to Scott and Amanda (and also paid $5,000 in veterinarian bills to cover her recovery)
he faces up to 18 months of jail time for charges of animal abuse
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The best new craft beers available in a beer store near you
New Belgium wood cellar blender Lauren Limbach was gifted a new foeder that she aptly named Dominga—a play on the Spanish word for Sunday
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Oaktoberfest is our oak-inspired homage to the great German tradition of Oktoberfest
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we aged the beer for a year in 12-year Elijah Craig barrels
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Hops aroma isn’t something you should even think about
but I think if you don’t put enough hops in there
Our guest is Laura Fry, the Senior Curator and Curator of Art at Gilcrease Museum here in Tulsa. She is also one of the curators of a striking new show at that museum, which she tells us about. Per the Gilcrease website: "Gilcrease Museum and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody
have partnered to present the groundbreaking exhibition 'Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West.' Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902) is best known as one of America's premier western landscape artists
But he was also a renowned history painter
This exhibition will address Bierstadt's depictions of Native cultures of the Great Plains and American bison
which he approached as key subjects for his art
[The show] features 75 artworks from more than 30 private and institutional lenders
Both Gilcrease and the Center of the West are contributing masterworks from their collections
In addition to signature paintings by Bierstadt
the exhibition includes works by artists of Bierstadt's time (and before)
depicting both Native Americans and bison during a period of dramatic change in the West."
From natural carbonation to a focus on foam
Bierstadt cofounder Ashleigh Carter explains their approach to carbon dioxide as an overlooked ingredient in great lager
JOHNSBURY – Walk in the doors of a lovely Victorian building smack in the middle of town
through an old library that smells splendidly of well-read books and into a spacious
sky-lit gallery and you’ll find one of the most famous - and undoubtedly valuable - paintings in all of Vermont
The 19th-century American landscape painter Albert Bierstadt is renowned to art lovers but less so to the general public
His 1867 work “The Domes of the Yosemite,” on the other hand
It captures all the glory of the northern California landmark and then some
the 10-by-15-foot painting displayed at the back of the St
Johnsbury Athenaeum is practically a billboard for the glories of the American landscape
“This was the first kind of (American) art that didn’t seem completely derivative of European art,” said Bob Joly
referring to the Hudson River School of Art that counted Bierstadt among its most significant painters
That grandeur has taken a hit in 150 years
The painting that casts the granite formations and rugged woods of Yosemite in their literal and figurative best light is showing its age through cracks and sagging
The painting will be removed from the Athenaeum this fall and shipped to an art-conservation company in Miami
The Athenaeum is in the midst of a $150,000 fundraising campaign to refurbish the painting and the gallery’s HVAC system
with the goal of returning the restored work to St
That’s a fair amount of money for a library and art gallery with an annual budget just over $500,000
It’s also a pittance compared to what “The Domes of the Yosemite” is likely worth
who declined to reveal how much the painting is insured for
A smaller Bierstadt painting sold for more than $7.3 million in 2008
Degas and other European Impressionists and the Bennington Museum’s works by Grandma Moses are worth countless millions
but Bierstadt’s “Domes” is in the conversation for most valuable paintings housed in Vermont
valuable painting in here,” Joly said of “The Domes of the Yosemite,” which shares wall space with works by well-known 19th-century American landscape painters such as Jasper Cropsey and Sanford Gifford
Johnsbury in 1873 after Bierstadt was commissioned to paint it by Connecticut businessman LeGrand Lockwood
Johnsbury’s wealthy Fairbanks Scales family who started the Athenaeum
bought Bierstadt’s monumental canvas for a bargain price of $5,100 after LeGrand ran into financial problems
“The fact that it’s here and part of this collection is a bit of an accident,” Joly said
“The Domes of the Yosemite” has resided in the Northeast Kingdom for 144 years
The 1871 building is not climate-controlled for valuable art
so Bierstadt’s massive work has endured expansion from summer moisture and contraction from winter dryness
supported in back by a series of cords and boards
a few cracks in the paint and a couple of holes possibly caused by pencil pokes that haven’t been filled in with the same artistry Bierstadt employed to create the painting
Now set at an angle away from the wall so workers can better access it
“The Domes of the Yosemite” awaits the restoration work of ArtCare
a preservation organization with offices in New York
has been up to Vermont to perform what she called “emergency treatment” of Bierstadt’s painting
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Levenson said of the project
It’s an amazing picture that needs tender loving care
and that it’s become weakened over time,” she said
The work is splitting at the fold where it’s tacked to the stretcher and starting collapse under its own weight
“It’s definitely come to the moment in time where it needs some serious attention,” she said
Her previous examination of “The Domes of the Yosemite” found a difference in the paint around the edge of the canvas from the face of the painting
which makes Levenson wonder if Bierstadt changed his mind about the painting as he went
While the painting is in Miami she said ArtCare will do some scholarly work as well as restoration
“All that kind of nerdy science and art-historical stuff is going to be super-fun,” Levenson said
The Athenaeum began a fundraising campaign last September to gather $100,000 from the organization’s group of donors and $50,000 from other sources including grants
The goal was to get to $100,000 by this October
but the tally has already reached $136,000
“They responded big-time for this painting,” Davis said of the donors
“We realized how much people really value it.”
who said “The Domes of the Yosemite” is the most-significant work in one of the most-significant buildings in the community
work crews will remove the canvas from the frame and the stretcher that supports the painting and roll it paint-side-out to reduce cracking before slipping “The Domes of the Yosemite” into a concrete tube for shipping
Joly said restorers will then take the painting out of St
Johnsbury for its trip to Miami in 21st-century style
“They’re coming in a Mercedes-Benz van,” he said
ADMISSION: Free. 748-8291, www.stjathenaeum.org
Vermont art at auctionA trio of paintings by 19th-century Vermont artist James Hope sold for $108,750 in an auction held Jan
according to information from Alexandra Fizer
exceeding the estimated price of $30,000-$50,000
A painting of West Rutland returned $18,750
Two of Hope’s paintings in the auction did not sell
Hope was born in Scotland and lived in Canada before coming to Fair Haven for an apprenticeship to a wagon-maker
His works were part of an auction titled “Important American Folk Art from the Ralph and Suzanne Katz Collection” that brought in $1,379,750
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at 660-1844 or bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck .