Nancy McClure
Bierstadt: Indigenous Plains People and the Bison
Plains peoples of Bierstadt’s time are often celebrated as “buffalo cultures.” This designation acknowledges the historical centrality of bison as a physical…
Bierstadt: Boone and Crockett Club
In 1888, Bierstadt became a charter member of the Boone and Crockett Club, North America’s first conservation group committed to preserving and…
Bierstadt: Animal Painter
Throughout his painting career, Bierstadt found inspiration in the animal kingdom. His sketches and observations of wildlife and domestic animals reveal his…
Bierstadt: The Last of the Buffalo
In 1888, the year Bierstadt joined the Boone and Crockett Club, he began work on two major paintings, both titled The Last…
Bierstadt: Bison as a Symbol of a Changing West
In the 1860s, many Americans preferred to imagine an empty West, ready for waves of new settlers. In Bierstadt’s early large-scale paintings,…
Bierstadt: Early Western Expeditions
Bierstadt traveled west in 1859 and 1863. These early expeditions offered the artist his first encounters with the region’s Native peoples, wildlife,…