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[[Image:Looking Down Yosemite Valley California.jpg|right|thumb|350px|''Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California'' (1865)]]
[[Image:Looking Down Yosemite Valley California.jpg|right|thumb|575px|''Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California'' (1865)]]
"'''Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California'''" ([[1865]]) is a monumental oil painting by [[Albert Bierstadt]] that is among the more notable and popular works in the [[Collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art|permanent collection]] of the [[Birmingham Museum of Art]].
"'''Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California'''" ([[1865]]) is a monumental oil painting by [[Albert Bierstadt]] that is among the most notable and popular works in the [[Collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art|permanent collection]] of the [[Birmingham Museum of Art]].


The painting was completed in 1865 following Bierstadt's travels in the western United States in 1859 and 1863. It was first shown, in the "position of honor", in that year's exhibition of the National Academy of Design in New York. It toured with Bierstadt to Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati the following year,  
The painting was completed in 1865 following Bierstadt's travels in the western United States in 1859 and 1863. It was first shown, in the "position of honor", in that year's exhibition of the National Academy of Design in New York. It toured with Bierstadt to Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati the following year,  


The 64" tall by 96 1/4" wide canvas with heavy walnut frame was purchased for $20,000 in December 1866 by Uranus H. Crosby, a Chicago distiller who constructed the Chicago Opera House, where he proudly displayed his new acquisition. Facing financial trouble, he offered the painting as second prize in an 1867 lottery for the deed to the Opera House. The 2nd place ticket went unsold and he made enough off the lottery to buy the Opera House back from the winner.
The 64" tall by 96¼" wide canvas, with its heavy walnut frame, was purchased for $20,000 in December 1865 by Uranus H. Crosby, a Chicago distiller. At the time it was the largest sum ever paid for an artwork by a living American artist. Crosby displayed the painting at his Crosby Opera House, a landmark in the city's booming cultural scene. When his spendthrift habits threatened to ruin him financially, he offered the painting as second prize in a lottery for the deed to the Opera House.


The curator of Crosby's collection, James F. Aitken, rescued "Looking Down Yosemite Valley" and fifty other paintings from the great Chicago fire of October 1871 which destroyed the Opera House. The rescued portion of the collection was exhibited in Boston, apparently as part of a fund-raising tour for helping Chicago rebuild. The collection returned ti Chicago in late 1871 or 1872 and was loaned to the Chicago Fine Art Institute in from 1873 to 1875 and to the Chicago Art Institute in 1885 and 1887.
The drawing, originally scheduled for October 1, 1866, was postponed to January 21, 1867. Whether by design or not, the 2nd place ticket went unsold. Crosby made enough off the lottery to buy the Opera House back from the winner for $200,000 and to collect a profit of $650,000, which allowed him to settle his remaining debts.


No notice of the painting's whereabouts is recorded until October 1929, when it was auctioned in Chicago for a mere $300 to a Mr Friecz, an employee of the [[Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company]], who brought it to Birmingham when he was transferred south. He, in turn, donated it to the [[Birmingham Public Library]] with the stipulation that the Library insure it for $15,000. It hung in the Library's literature department, darkened by age and unrecognized as a work of Bierstadt's, until [[1974]] when [[Edward Weeks]], curator of painting and sculpture at the Birmingham Museum of Art suggested a conservation cleaning. After cleaning it was loaned indefinitely to the Museum, and made a permanent gift in [[1991]].
The curator of Crosby's collection, James F. Aitken, rescued "Looking Down Yosemite Valley," and fifty other paintings, from the great Chicago fire of October 1871 which destroyed the Opera House. The rescued portion of the collection was exhibited in Boston, apparently as part of a fund-raising tour for helping Chicago rebuild. The collection returned to Chicago in late 1871 or 1872 and was loaned to the Chicago Fine Art Institute in from 1873 to 1875 and to the Chicago Art Institute in 1885 and 1887.
 
Uranus Crosby's older cousin, Albert, took possession of the painting afterward and displayed it in a well-stocked art gallery at "Tawasentha", a sprawling mansion that he built around his family's old house in Brewster, Cape Cod as a place for his second wife, Matilda, a former burlesque performer, to entertain. There it was likely viewed by such illustrious visitors as Mark Twain and Prince Albert of Monaco.
 
It was also viewed, by chance, by an Illinois state senator and judge who was involved in identifying Albert Crosby's assets on behalf of creditors. He had not made the connection when friends brought him to Brewster to visit the famed picture gallery during a vacation stay. Since he was familiar with the Bierstadt from its former place of honor in Crosby's Opera House he immediately identified the sought-for assets. Arrangements were made to bring the art collection back to Illinois to be auctioned off, but Crosby argued successfully in court that he had transferred ownership of all his assets to his wife. After Albert's death in 1906 Matilda opened the gallery to the public once a week. When she died in [[1928]] her grandnieces inherited the estate. They unloaded most of the house's contents at a public sale, and it was there that [[Anna Friecz]] acquired "Looking Down Yosemite Valley", in its original frame, for $200.
 
Mrs Friecz's husband was employed by the [[Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company]] and had been transferred to [[Birmingham]]. She paid another $100 to freight the work to their home. They donated the painting to the [[Birmingham Public Library]] with the stipulation that it be insured for $15,000. It hung in the Library's literature department, darkened by age. Though it was known locally, the broader art community was unaware of the fate of the monumental painting.
 
In [[1974]] [[Edward Weeks]], curator of painting and sculpture at the Birmingham Museum of Art, suggested a conservation cleaning. After cleaning it was loaned indefinitely to the Museum, and made a permanent gift in [[1991]].


In September [[2001]] the American Art Galleries were reopened with in a new format designed by curators [[David Moos]] and [[Anne Forschler]] that combines fine and decorative arts and features Alabama-made objects of the period between the American Revolution and the mid 1920s. ''Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California'' was given a new place of honor at the entrance to the 6000 square foot gallery, terminating the view down the main first floor hallway.
In September [[2001]] the American Art Galleries were reopened with in a new format designed by curators [[David Moos]] and [[Anne Forschler]] that combines fine and decorative arts and features Alabama-made objects of the period between the American Revolution and the mid 1920s. ''Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California'' was given a new place of honor at the entrance to the 6000 square foot gallery, terminating the view down the main first floor hallway.


A similar but much smaller version of this scene hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
A similar but much smaller version of this scene was painted in [[1864]], probably as a sketch for this painting. It hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and was used on a United States postage stamp honoring the painter.


==References==
==References==
* Birmingham Museum of Art. (1993) ''Masterpieces East & West from the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art''. Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Museum of Art. pp. 174-75 ISBN 0931394384
* "Crosby's Opera House and Three Hundred Paintings" (c. 1866) Crosby Opera House Art Association, p. 8, reproduced in Castenholz, Bill (March 1997) "[https://asccinfo.com/the-great-crosby-opera-house-lottery The Great Crosby Opera House Lottery]". ''The Check Collector'' (American Society of Check Collectors)
* Elliott, Susan Sipple. (1997) ''Looking Down Yosemite Valley: Paintings by Albert Bierstadt''. Exhibition catalog. Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Museum of Art. ASIN B0006QPJC2
* "The Chicago Opera House Lottery" (February 9, 1867) ''Harper's Weekly''
* Hendricks, Gordon (September 1964) "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3048185 The First Three Western Journeys of Albert Bierstadt]" ''Art Bulletin''. Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 333-365
* Anderson, Nancy K. & Linda S. Ferber (1990) ''Albert Bierstadt: Art & Enterprise.'' Hudson Hills Press / Brooklyn Museum, p. 183
* {{BMA-1993}}
* Elliott, Susan Sipple (1997) ''Looking Down Yosemite Valley: Paintings by Albert Bierstadt''. Exhibition catalog. Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Museum of Art. ASIN B0006QPJC2
* [http://www.tfaoi.com/permc/perm4.htm Looking Down Yosemite Valley] at the Traditional Fine Arts Organization's website
* [http://www.tfaoi.com/permc/perm4.htm Looking Down Yosemite Valley] at the Traditional Fine Arts Organization's website
* Cropsey, Eugene H. (1999) ''Crosby's Opera House: Symbol of Chicago's Cultural Awakening.'' Vancouver, British Columbia: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. ISBN 9780838638224
* [http://www.artsbma.org/AmericanPR.htm Press Release] noting the opening of the "Major Reinstallation of American Art Collection" on September 23, 2001.
* [http://www.artsbma.org/AmericanPR.htm Press Release] noting the opening of the "Major Reinstallation of American Art Collection" on September 23, 2001.
* Huebner, Michael (August 29, 2008), [http://blog.al.com/mhuebner/2008/08/new_stamp_an_early_sketch_of_b.html "New stamp an early sketch of Birmingham Museum of Art's Bierstadt,"] {{BN}}
* Wilson, Joanna (January 14, 2014) "[http://artsbma.org/collection/spotlight-on-the-collection/item/1014-spotlight-january-2014 Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California, Albert Bierstadt, 1865]" Spotlight on the Collection. Birmingham Museum of Art
* Whitley, Carla Jean (June 12, 2015) "[https://www.al.com/entertainment/2015/06/youll_never_guess_where_one_of.html You'll never guess where one of Birmingham Museum of Art's most prominent pieces was purchased]" {{BN}}
* Stetson, Deb Boucher (May 2018) "[https://capecodlife.com/crosby-mansions-past-and-present/ A monument to romance]" ''Cape Cod Life''


==External link==
==External link==
* [http://www.artsbma.org Birmingham Museum of Art] Home Page.
* [https://www.artsbma.org/collection/looking-down-yosemite-valley-california/ Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California] at artsbma.org


[[Category:Paintings in the Birmingham Museum of Art]]
[[Category:Paintings in the Birmingham Museum of Art]]
[[Category:1865 works]]
[[Category:1865 works]]

Latest revision as of 16:18, 3 December 2020

Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California (1865)

"Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California" (1865) is a monumental oil painting by Albert Bierstadt that is among the most notable and popular works in the permanent collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art.

The painting was completed in 1865 following Bierstadt's travels in the western United States in 1859 and 1863. It was first shown, in the "position of honor", in that year's exhibition of the National Academy of Design in New York. It toured with Bierstadt to Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati the following year,

The 64" tall by 96¼" wide canvas, with its heavy walnut frame, was purchased for $20,000 in December 1865 by Uranus H. Crosby, a Chicago distiller. At the time it was the largest sum ever paid for an artwork by a living American artist. Crosby displayed the painting at his Crosby Opera House, a landmark in the city's booming cultural scene. When his spendthrift habits threatened to ruin him financially, he offered the painting as second prize in a lottery for the deed to the Opera House.

The drawing, originally scheduled for October 1, 1866, was postponed to January 21, 1867. Whether by design or not, the 2nd place ticket went unsold. Crosby made enough off the lottery to buy the Opera House back from the winner for $200,000 and to collect a profit of $650,000, which allowed him to settle his remaining debts.

The curator of Crosby's collection, James F. Aitken, rescued "Looking Down Yosemite Valley," and fifty other paintings, from the great Chicago fire of October 1871 which destroyed the Opera House. The rescued portion of the collection was exhibited in Boston, apparently as part of a fund-raising tour for helping Chicago rebuild. The collection returned to Chicago in late 1871 or 1872 and was loaned to the Chicago Fine Art Institute in from 1873 to 1875 and to the Chicago Art Institute in 1885 and 1887.

Uranus Crosby's older cousin, Albert, took possession of the painting afterward and displayed it in a well-stocked art gallery at "Tawasentha", a sprawling mansion that he built around his family's old house in Brewster, Cape Cod as a place for his second wife, Matilda, a former burlesque performer, to entertain. There it was likely viewed by such illustrious visitors as Mark Twain and Prince Albert of Monaco.

It was also viewed, by chance, by an Illinois state senator and judge who was involved in identifying Albert Crosby's assets on behalf of creditors. He had not made the connection when friends brought him to Brewster to visit the famed picture gallery during a vacation stay. Since he was familiar with the Bierstadt from its former place of honor in Crosby's Opera House he immediately identified the sought-for assets. Arrangements were made to bring the art collection back to Illinois to be auctioned off, but Crosby argued successfully in court that he had transferred ownership of all his assets to his wife. After Albert's death in 1906 Matilda opened the gallery to the public once a week. When she died in 1928 her grandnieces inherited the estate. They unloaded most of the house's contents at a public sale, and it was there that Anna Friecz acquired "Looking Down Yosemite Valley", in its original frame, for $200.

Mrs Friecz's husband was employed by the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company and had been transferred to Birmingham. She paid another $100 to freight the work to their home. They donated the painting to the Birmingham Public Library with the stipulation that it be insured for $15,000. It hung in the Library's literature department, darkened by age. Though it was known locally, the broader art community was unaware of the fate of the monumental painting.

In 1974 Edward Weeks, curator of painting and sculpture at the Birmingham Museum of Art, suggested a conservation cleaning. After cleaning it was loaned indefinitely to the Museum, and made a permanent gift in 1991.

In September 2001 the American Art Galleries were reopened with in a new format designed by curators David Moos and Anne Forschler that combines fine and decorative arts and features Alabama-made objects of the period between the American Revolution and the mid 1920s. Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California was given a new place of honor at the entrance to the 6000 square foot gallery, terminating the view down the main first floor hallway.

A similar but much smaller version of this scene was painted in 1864, probably as a sketch for this painting. It hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and was used on a United States postage stamp honoring the painter.

References

External link

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