Sunrise in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, California by Albert Bierstadt

Sunrise in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, California is a painting currently on view located in the American Paintings Salon inside the George Walter Vicent Smith Art Museum.

Albert Bierstadt was a member of the Hudson River School painters, a group of 19th century artists whose paintings, although various in their design and composition, are often characterized by romanticized depictions of “classic” American landscapes. Although an American, Bierstadt studied in Düsseldorf, Germany, where he furthered his skills of capturing dramatic, and often large-scale paintings of natural scenes. Bierstadt often mimicked the stylistic choices of his fellow Hudson River School artist Frederic Church, painting scenes with a dramatic subject matter, depicting epic grandeur and using scientific exactness within the detail of his work.

Bierstadt’s fascination with the West started in 1859 when he accompanied an Army expedition to map a wagon trail across the Rocky Mountains. Returning with several examples of sketches and photographs, Bierstadt created several paintings, which immediately found popular appeal. On his second trip to the West, Bierstadt’s journey was chronicled by Fritz Hugh Ludlow, a New York-based reporter. Bierstadt made a third trip west in 1871-1873, when he focused his subject on the Yosemite Valley, where the inspiration for Sunrise in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, California comes from.

Until the early 1920s, the Hetch Hetchy Valley was located about 15 miles north of Yosemite. In 1923, the Tuolumne River was dammed, and the valley was flooded to make a reservoir for the City of San Francisco. For many people, Bierstadt’s canvases capture the untouched beauty of American landscapes and play on the popular idea that America was a land chosen by God and Americans as his chosen people.

Sunrise in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, California, 1873 – 1875, Albert Bierstadt, oil on canvas. George Walter Vincent Smith Collection. GWVS-1.23.4