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Olevano

Date
1856–57
Classification
Paintings
Collection
American Art
Current Location
On View, Gallery 336
Dimensions
19 3/4 x 27 1/8 in. (50.2 x 68.9 cm)
framed: 26 x 33 1/2 in. (66 x 85.1 cm)
Credit Line
Eliza McMillan Trust
Rights
Public Domain
Object Number
150:1953
NOTES
Painted from a hill overlooking the Italian town of Olevano Romano, this oil sketch presents a panoramic view of stucco buildings, the rustic countryside, and the distant ruins of a castle at the right. Along the bottom of the painting, Albert Bierstadt recorded the names of nearby locations and later used them as reference points for a larger painting based on this sketch. Olevano Romano’s great cliffs and distinctive architecture attracted many tourists and artists in the mid-19th century.
1890 - 1953
Bierstadt family, gift of the artist; Edward Hale Bierstadt, Orangeburg, NY [1]

1953 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Edward Hale Bierstadt [2]


Notes:
[1] According to a note from Edward Hale Bierstadt, the artist was his grand-uncle and gave the painting to his parents in 1890 as a wedding gift; the painting was in the immediate possession of his family until he sold it to the Museum [invoice from Edward Hale Bierstadt, October 22, 1953].

[2] See note [1]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, November 5, 1953.

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