Albert Bierstadt and the Speculative Terrain of American Landscape Painting, 1866-1877
- ISBN-10
- ISBN-13
- 9798738640940
- Pages
- 272
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2021
- Author
- Spencer Wigmore
Description
Beginning in the mid-1860s, the German-American landscape painter Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) used the fortune earned from his painting practice to make speculative investments in railroads, mines, and real estate across the American West, often at or near the sites that he depicted in his landscapes. As his involvement in speculation deepened, Bierstadt worked to align himself with an emergent culture of elite transatlantic finance. Reconstructing Bierstadt's ambitions as a speculator, this dissertation investigates the relationship between the artist's land dealings and his landscape paintings. In doing so, it argues that Bierstadt's pictures invite audiences to imagine western space as if they were speculators. In advancing this claim, this dissertation reassesses Bierstadt's reputation as an American Western artist, revealing his conviction that the cultural, economic, and social value of western land stemmed from its exchangeability as a financial asset.
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