Flag (from Sketchbook)
ca. 1891
Medium
Graphite on wove paper with gilt edges, bound in a leather cover
Dimensions
4 3/4 x 7 3/4 x 7/16 in. (12.1 x 19.7 x 1.1 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Marguerite H. Rohlfs, 1995
Accession Number
1995.379.3j verso
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled within a finely bound leather sketchbook with gilt-edged wove paper pages, Albert Bierstadt's *Flag (from Sketchbook, created around 1891, offers a rare glimpse into the personal workings of one of America's foremost landscape painters. Bierstadt a leading figure in the Hudson River, is celebrated for his grand, luminist depictions of American West, but this graphite drawing—measuring just 4 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches—reveals his dexterity with quick, preparatory sketches. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, it entered the collection through the bequest of Marguerite H. R...
About the Artist
Albert Bierstadt · 1830–1902
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) was a German-American landscape painter renowned for his monumental, luminous depictions of the American West. As a prominent member of the second generation of the Hudson River School and the Rocky Mountain School, Bierstadt created sweeping panoramas that captured the sublime grandeur of untamed wilderness with unprecedented theatrical scale and romantic vision. His ...