What morality was implied in Albert Bierstadt's landscape paintings of the West?

Hi jo654-ga,

Thank you for providing such an interesting topic to provide you with
an answer for.

The Hudson School Painters, “…felt the wondrous natural beauty of the
gorges and highlands found in the Hudson River Valley were "direct
manifestations" of God, and they sought to render and paint exactly
what they saw.”
http://www.npac.syr.edu/projects/ltb/teacher_journeys/hudson.html

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) was a German born painter who drew his
initial American artistic inspiration from the late painters of the
Hudson River School.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/icon/bierstadt.html

The morality implied in his work were major human concerns: “…relating
to God, nature, and morality, as well as the nation's mission and
future, the management of its resources, and the achievement of its
social stability and happiness (which) all found their way into works
of art."”
http://www.csuchico.edu/art/contrapposto/contrapposto98/pages/%20essays/keale.html

Another good site which includes links to other resources and sites
about the Hudson River School Painters and Bierstadt specifically is
at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/5777/Hudson.htm

Bierstadt, by capturing the beauty of wilderness on canvas, helped
many people to see the value of preserving wilderness.
http://www.wilderness.net/carhart/manual/9-12/4_whole.pdf
This reinforces the idea that Bierstadt was motivated by a desire to
preserve the “morality” of God’s creations by accurately capturing the
natural beauty of the landscape in his paintings.

“…Albert Bierstadt[‘s] … vision of wilderness does not elicit
insecurity; it is Eden, whose God is an American god whose gospel is
Manifest Destiny”
http://www.albany.edu/faculty/lr618/WEusa2.html

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your question. Please ask for
clarification if needed prior to rating this answer.

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"albert bierstadt" landscape paintings west morality
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Clarification of Answer by legolas-ga on 22 Nov 2002 17:38 PST

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