Lake Tahoe, Spearing Fish by Torchlight 1875

Albert Bierstadt made this oil-on-paper painting titled 'Lake Tahoe, Spearing Fish by Torchlight' sometime in the late 19th century. Bierstadt’s idealized visions of the American West are often seen as powerful symbols of Manifest Destiny, the belief that American settlers were destined to expand across the continent. In this image, we see two figures in a boat on Lake Tahoe, one holding a torch and the other poised to spear fish. The scene is romantic and picturesque, but it also speaks to the complex relationship between humans and nature, and the drive to dominate and exploit natural resources. Bierstadt’s paintings were hugely popular at a time when the American West was being rapidly transformed by industrialization and settlement, and his art helped to shape the way Americans saw their country and its place in the world. Careful historical research using sources from the period is essential if we want to understand the cultural meanings that Bierstadt's paintings held in their time.