Landscape with Bay, Trees, and Mountains [Red Rock?] (from Sketchbook) 1890

Albert Bierstadt made this landscape study with graphite on paper, probably sometime in the latter half of the 19th century. The work is executed with delicate, tentative lines, a record of the artist's direct observation. Notice the bare minimum of marks required to render the scene. There is a cabin at the lower left, almost an afterthought; beyond that, a bay, trees, and mountains. Bierstadt was known for his grand, panoramic paintings of the American West. This small drawing, however, shows the foundation of that work. Each of those ambitious paintings began with acute looking and a sensitivity to the subtleties of the landscape. The quickly made graphite sketch may seem a far cry from a finished painting, but it is the bedrock of Bierstadt's vision. It represents the crucial first step in transforming natural resources into a commodity, ready for consumption in the art market. Appreciating this act of looking and mark-making allows us to understand the artistic process, and to question conventional hierarchies of art and craft.