Canadian Mountain Peaks (from Sketchbook) 1890

Albert Bierstadt sketched "Canadian Mountain Peaks" with graphite on paper as part of a sketchbook. Bierstadt's landscapes often evoke a sense of sublime, untouched wilderness. However, these romanticized depictions obscure the complex colonial history of the American West and, here, Canada. As settlers moved westward, the land and its original inhabitants were dramatically impacted. Bierstadt and other artists of his time played a role in shaping perceptions of these regions, often reinforcing ideas of manifest destiny and overlooking the displacement and marginalization of Indigenous peoples. Although this sketch is more intimate, the themes resonate: What does it mean to represent a landscape, and whose stories are included or erased in that representation? Bierstadt's work invites us to reflect on the power of images to shape our understanding of history and place.