Albert Bierstadt- Westward Expansion
By: Hayden Smith
Professor Kreps
Art Appreciation
April 21, 2015
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Smith
Albert Bierstadt: Westward Expansion
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchase from the
French. Thomas Jefferson created the idea of Westward Expansion, which would be the
talk of the nation for the next century. Jefferson took a major step toward this goal after
signing the fifteen million dollar check over to the French, and effectively doubling the
United States size. The term Westward Expansion is synonymous with Manifest Destiny.
Manifest Destiny can be defined as the belief that the Expansion of the US throughout the
American was both justified and inevitable. Some at the time said God had destined this
idea, or was a God given right to expand across America all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
One man in the art world that is known to have propagated this way of thinking is Albert
Bierstadt. Bierstadt gave people, who thought they knew what the west looked like, a
detailed view of the beauty the West has to offer. Through Albert Bierstadt’s love for
painting and the outdoors, he showed Americans settling for life in the East that beautiful
sights are still to be seen out West. By painting large landscapes from the West, Bierstadt
was able to help Americans realize the scenery they were missing out on and helped
strengthen the idea of Manifest Destiny.
Albert was born in Germany in 1830 but moved to Massachusetts with his family
at the age of two (Baigell 6). Bierstadt’s love for art began at a young age but although he
tried to teach himself he recognized that he needed formal art instruction if he was going
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to become a great artist. Needing money to accomplish this goal, Albert had to wait until
he was 23 years old to set off for Germany in hopes of receiving training from Johann
Peter Hasenclever. Shortly after arriving Bierstadt learned Hasenclever had passed away
but was offered instruction from two American artists, Emanuel Leutze and Worthington
Whittredge (Baigell 8). After four years Bierstadt had traveled across Europe and
emerged with a high level of expertise in the artist field.
Equipped with his newly developed mastery in art, Bierstadt traveled back to
Massachusetts. After completing a few works Bierstadt was given the opportunity to
travel west with a survey party in 1859. This is the point in Albert’s career that he was in
the right place at the right time. Albert took sketches and photographs of America’s
untouched beautiful landscapes while he was on this trip. People were wondering what
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