The German-American painter Albert Bierstadt is best known for his large-scale landscapes of the American West. Bierstadt sought to capture what he called “an authentic aesthetic experience” by painting the landscape in a way that confronted the unpredictability of nature. The artist visited Wyoming's Laramie Peak several times, creating at least two other paintings of the subject. In the Albright-Knox’s work, he emphasizes the mountain peak that looms majestically against a glowing sky, dwarfing the silvery surface of the lake below. While this scene is unquestionably picturesque, Bierstadt found a deeper spiritual renewal in the landscape, exclaiming, “Man is so fortunate to dwell in this American Garden of Eden.”

Label from Anselm Kiefer: Beyond Landscape, November 17, 2013–October 5, 2014