Grizzly Bears 1859

Albert Bierstadt’s "Grizzly Bears," is a 35.6 by 40.6 cm oil on paper painting, that offers a glimpse into the 19th-century American West. Bierstadt was part of the Hudson River School, whose artists romanticized the American landscape. But beyond their visual appeal, these paintings played into the era’s concept of Manifest Destiny, justifying westward expansion. This work subtly reflects the period’s complex relationship with nature. While appearing to celebrate the wild, it also subtly promotes a sense of dominion over it. The representation of the grizzlies, both powerful and vulnerable, speaks to the conflicting attitudes of the time. As settlers encroached on native lands, the grizzly bear became a symbol of both the untamed wilderness and the perceived need to conquer it. Bierstadt’s painting invites us to reflect on the narratives we construct about nature, identity, and power.