Scene in the Sierra Nevada 1861

Albert Bierstadt created this 45 by 60 centimeter oil on paper titled, 'Scene in the Sierra Nevada', sometime during the 19th century. Bierstadt, a key figure in the Hudson River School, captured the American West, often imbuing his landscapes with a romanticized, almost spiritual quality. This painting echoes the 19th-century concept of Manifest Destiny, a belief that American settlers were destined to expand across the continent. However, this expansion came at the expense of the indigenous populations whose land this was. While the painting celebrates the sublime beauty of the Sierra Nevada, it also subtly promotes a narrative of dominion over nature and the displacement of native communities. Bierstadt's artistic choices – the scale of the landscape and the presence of white settlers – reinforce a sense of American exceptionalism. Through this lens, we can see how art functioned to legitimize territorial expansion, shaping the cultural and political landscape of the United States.