Merced River, Yosemite Valley 1866 - Poster

Merced River, Yosemite Valley 1866 is a painting by Albert Bierstadt. On May 12, 1863, in the company of the journalist and explorer Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Bierstadt departed on his second trip to the West. The two men camped in California’s Yosemite Valley in August, probably inspired by the stereoscopic photographs of Carleton E. Watkins, who had recorded the valley’s magnificent scenery under various atmospheric conditions in 1861. From the many studies Bierstadt made during the trip, he painted several large works back in his New York studio. In this canvas, monumental, jagged peaks dwarf a group of foreground figures, likely depicting members of Yosemite’s Indigenous population, who inhabited the valley for millennia prior to Bierstadt’s arrival. Although this artwork is digitally restored, the cracks and the fine lines are left intact on this painting to honour the time this painting emerged from.