Campfire Site, Yosemite 1873

Albert Bierstadt painted Campfire Site, Yosemite in oils, sometime during his career. Bierstadt's large-scale landscapes often captured the American West through the lens of Manifest Destiny, an ideology which fueled colonial expansion and the displacement of Indigenous peoples. This painting, with its romantic portrayal of a night scene in Yosemite, is no exception. While superficially a naturalistic scene, it invites us to consider the complex narratives of land, identity, and power embedded in its representation of the American West. How does the depiction of the Indigenous figures around the campfire, set against the backdrop of the majestic landscape, reflect or challenge the dominant cultural narratives of the time? Does the painting perpetuate a romanticized view of westward expansion, or does it offer a more nuanced perspective on the encounter between different cultures? Ultimately, the painting asks us to consider whose stories are told and whose are left out of the grand narrative of the American West.