Sketch of a Ship at Anchor for The Landing of Columbus (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
1995.379.3h recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, renowned American landscape painter Albert Bierstadt turned his masterful eye to historical subjects, seen in this delicate graphite from his sketchbook, dated around 1891. Titled *Sketch of a Ship at Anchor for The Landing of Columbus*, it captures a pivotal preparatory study for a grand painting depicting Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World. Housed in The American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this small gem (just 4 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches) reflects Bierstadt's Hudson River School roots—emphasizing dramatic naturalism and Romantic grandeur—while ven...
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 ...