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Mountain Brook

Painting of a small stream in the middle of the woods. In the center of the painting, there is a small waterfall over a large boulder. Radiant beams of sunlight penetrate the thick forest of birch and other trees, and a small bird sings from a broken branch over the waterfall.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Painting of a small stream in the middle of the woods. In the center of the painting, there is a small waterfall over a large boulder. Radiant beams of sunlight penetrate the thick forest of birch and other trees, and a small bird sings from a broken branch over the waterfall.

Date:

1863

Artist:

Albert Bierstadt
American, born Germany, 1830–1902

About this artwork

Albert Bierstadt is best remembered for his paintings of the American West, but during his early career, the ambitious artist also created New England landscapes, particularly of the White Mountains, as seen here. When this painting was first exhibited in 1863, critics declared it Bierstadt’s “best work” and praised the artist’s deft contrast of “light and shade,” which brought a heightened realism to the image. Bierstadt’s affinity for the White Mountains mirrored a growing interest in the region as one of America’s premier tourist attractions. Photographs of the area from the 19th century suggest that Bierstadt utilized landscape elements from the Flume, a popular New Hampshire tourist site, in this imaginary composition.

Status

On View, Gallery 171

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Albert Bierstadt

Title

Mountain Brook

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1863

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed, lower left: "A. Bierstadt"

Dimensions

111.8 × 91.4 cm (44 × 36 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Herbert A. Vance; fund of an anonymous donor; Wesley M. Dixon Jr. Fund and Endowment; Henry Horner Straus and Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. Wacker Jr. endowment funds; through prior acquisitions of various donors, including Samuel P. Avery Endowment, Mrs. George A. Carpenter, Frederick S. Colburn, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Feinberg, Field Museum of Natural History, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Harding, International Minerals and Chemicals Corp., Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Loeff, Mrs. Frank C. Miller, Mahlan D. Moulds, Mrs. Clive Runnells, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Stone, and the Charles H. and Mary F.S. Worcester Collection

Reference Number

1997.365

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/146701/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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