1969.68
Cloud Study, Moonlight
Artist
Albert Bierstadt
(Solingen, Prussia (now Germany), 1/7/1830 - 2/18/1902, New York, New York)
Title
Cloud Study, Moonlight
Creation Date
ca. 1860
Century
19th century
Dimensions
12 3/4 in. x 9 5/16 in. (32.39 cm x 23.65 cm)
Object Type
painting
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
oil on paper
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Florence C. Quinby Fund, in memory of Henry Cole Quinby, Honorary Degree, 1916
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1969.68
Although he is best known for his large and operatic studio work, Bierstadt made unpretentious plein air sketches throughout his career. Rendered in the medium of oil on paper, Bowdoin’s Cloud Study, Moonlight reveals Bierstadt’s ability to dispense with drama and create modest compositions of pleasing naturalism. For Bierstadt, such sketches were intended primarily as records of his observations and as visual aids for larger studio works; personal in nature, they were not exhibited widely, nor were they meant to stand alongside the artist’s major oils.