''Valley of the Yosemite'' (or ''Valley of the Yo-Semite'') is a painting by

Albert Bierstadt Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. He joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion to paint the scenes. He was no ...

that was completed in 1864. Initially associated with the

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, ...

, Bierstadt rose to prominence for his paintings of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, which established him as one of the best painters of the western American landscape. His later paintings of Yosemite were also received with critical acclaim and public praise.

Painting

For his second trip West, in the summer of 1863, Bierstadt went with writer

Fitz Hugh Ludlow Fitz Hugh Ludlow, sometimes seen as Fitzhugh Ludlow (September 11, 1836 – September 12, 1870), was an American author, journalist, and explorer; best known for his autobiographical book ''The Hasheesh Eater'' (1857). Ludlow also wrote about hi ...

to the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. During the trip, Bierstadt spent several weeks doing

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

studies in

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...

. Those studies were used as references for his future paintings, including this 1864 ''Valley of the Yosemite'', which was painted in his New York studio. Since this painting was on a smaller scale than his other larger panoramic scenes and it was done on paperboard, it is often thought that it is a sketch for his significantly larger, ''

Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California ''Looking Down the Yosemite Valley, California'' is an 1865 painting by the German-American painter Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902). It was Bierstadt's first large-scale Yosemite picture, a subject for which he would become well known. It present ...

,'' which was painted a year later in 1865. Many versions of ''Valley of the Yosemite'' were painted by Bierstadt. Upon viewing Yosemite, Albert Bierstadt immediately wrote to his friend,

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...

, in August 1863, saying he discovered the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...

in America: Yosemite. With such thoughts of Paradise on his mind, Bierstadt painted an idealistic scene of the American wilderness, which he portrayed as completely untouched by man. Overall, the panoramic scene is idyllic, as a cluster of deer linger peacefully in the center foreground. A painter of the

, Bierstadt's style also had aspects of luminism. As seen in this depiction of Yosemite, the setting sun casts a yellow-orange glow over the entire landscape. Perhaps Bierstadt hoped to preserve this paradise through paintings like these, as a few years later, the

First transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

was built, which introduced tourism to the American west. Bierstadt's paintings, specifically ones with the Yosemite Valley as subject matter, resonated with many Americans as an untouched paradise during a time of unrest, as the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

occurred. Furthermore, upon seeing these Yosemite-themed paintings, it spurred Americans to protect America's natural landscape. With public support, in 1864,

President Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

signed a bill protecting Yosemite's natural beauty, preserving it as a park for the public to enjoy.

Provenance

Shortly after its completion, in April 1864, the painting was exhibited at the "

Metropolitan Fair The Metropolitan Fair was a public event organized in the Metropolitan City of New York by the United States Sanitary Commission to raise funds and supplies for the Union Army during the American Civil War, (from 1861 to 1865). The first Metropol ...

, in aid of the

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil W ...

." It sold for $1600, which was the highest price paid for any painting in the sale at that

Sanitary Fair Sanitary fairs were fund-raising events held in various cities on behalf of the United States Sanitary Commission to raise funds and supplies for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Established in 1863, the last major event was held in 1 ...

James Lenox James Lenox (August 19, 1800 – February 17, 1880) was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and in 1895 became part of the New York Public Library. Early ...

bought it for his personal art collection. When construction for his

Lenox Library (New York) The Lenox Library was a library incorporated and endowed in 1870. It was both an architectural and intellectual landmark in Gilded Age–era New York City. It was founded by bibliophile and philanthropist James Lenox, and located on Fifth Avenue ...

ended, Lenox had the painting displayed in the art galleries. Years after Lenox's death, the Lenox Foundation decided to merge the Lenox Library's collection with the Tilden Trust and

Astor Library The Astor Library was a free public library in the East Village, Manhattan, developed primarily through the collaboration of New York City merchant John Jacob Astor and New England educator and bibliographer Joseph Cogswell. It was primarily me ...

to create the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. In 1895, the painting belonged to the New York Public Library. However, in April 1943, the New York Public Library auctioned off the painting through Coleman Auction Galleries, and it was bought by Newhouse Galleries. Soon after, A. F. Mondschein (also known as Frederick Mont or Adolf Fritz Mondschein or Frederick Mondschein) of New York acquired the painting. Mondschein was an art dealer and collector. He primarily dealt with Old Masters paintings, which makes his involvement with Bierstadt's ''Valley of the Yosemite'' painting unusual. Mondschein then sold it later that year to

Maxim Karolik Maxim Karolik (November 21, 1893 – December 20, 1963), born in what is now Ukraine, he became a featured tenor for the Imperial Russian Grand Opera (later known as the Petrograd Grand Opera). He toured in Europe as a young man. He left Russia d ...

. Karolik's wife, another prominent collector of American art, gifted the painting to the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

on June 12, 1947.

References

{{Albert Bierstadt Paintings by Albert Bierstadt 1864 paintings Paintings in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Water in art Deer in art