id:			150968
accession number:	1982.37
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1982.37
updated:		2023-03-11 20:51:18.825000

Fir Trees and Storm Clouds, c. 1870. Albert Bierstadt (American, 1830–1902). Oil on paper mounted on canvas; unframed: 35 x 47 cm (13 3/4 x 18 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1982.37

title:				Fir Trees and Storm Clouds
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1870
creation date earliest:		1865
creation date latest:		1875
current location:		
creditline:			Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	America, 19th century
technique:	oil on paper mounted on canvas
department:	American Painting and Sculpture
collection:	American - Painting
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Albert Bierstadt (American, 1830–1902)  - artist

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measurements: Unframed: 35 x 47 cm (13 3/4 x 18 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Year in Review for 1982
	opening date:   1983-01-05T05:00:00
	<i>The Year in Review for 1982</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 5-February 6, 1983).

	title:		The American Sublime
	opening date:   2002-02-20T00:00:00
	<i>The American Sublime</i>. Tate Britain, London (organizer) (February 20-May 19, 2002); Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Museum of American Art, Philadelphia, PA (June 17-August 25, 2002); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (September 22-November 17, 2002).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* New York, Davis &amp; Langdale Company, Inc, Oil Sketches by Albert Bierstadt, 1830-1902 (13 April-8 May 1982), cat. no. 6, illus. <br>Brooklyn, NY, The Brooklyn Museum, Feb. 8-May 6, 1991: "Albert Bierstadt:  Art and Enterprise," cat. #31, illus. p. 168.  Also to:  San Francisco, CA, M. H. de Young Museum, June 8-Sept. 2, 1991; Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art, Nov. 3, 1991-Feb. 17, 1992<br>London, Tate Britain, American Sublime: Landscape Painting in the United States 1820-1880 (21 February-19 May 2002); traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (17 June-25 August 2002); to Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (22 September-17 November 2002); cat. no. 62, illus. p. 182.

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PROVENANCE

	English Collection; (Davis & Langdale, New York,d 1982).
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
Bierstadt made his first journey West in 1859, opening the eyes of other American artists to the potential for inspiration in the Western landscape.  This atmospheric study is generally associated with his inaugural 1859 trip, but may also belong to a later Western visit in 1870.  The low horizon and vividly observed sky place the painting within the tradition of European plein-air (open air) oil sketching, similar to the work of John Constable.  Even though the landscape occupies only a small portion of the scene, the different species of trees are carefully distinguished and the rocky outcrops are characteristic of the Western terrain where Bierstadt was traveling.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1982.37/1982.37_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1982.37/1982.37_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1982.37/1982.37_full.tif