# Mountain Brook

- By: Albert Bierstadt (American, born Solingen, Prussia, now Germany, 1830–1902)
- Date: 1863
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: 111.8 × 91.4 cm (44 × 36 in.)
- Culture: United States
- Credit line: Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Herbert A. Vance; fund of an anonymous donor; Wesley M. Dixon Jr. Fund and Endowment; Henry Horner Straus and Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. Wacker Jr. endowment funds; through prior acquisitions of…
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/146701)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d55b0cfc-0716-d6cd-3b38-5742903ce046/full/!1832,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Albert Bierstadt is best remembered for his paintings of the American West, but during his early career, the ambitious artist also created New England landscapes, particularly of the White Mountains, as seen here. When this painting was first exhibited in 1863, critics declared it Bierstadt’s “best work” and praised the artist’s deft contrast of “light and shade,” which brought a heightened realism to the image. Bierstadt’s affinity for the White Mountains mirrored a growing interest in the region as one of America’s premier tourist attractions. Photographs of the area from the 19th century suggest that Bierstadt utilized landscape elements from the Flume, a popular New Hampshire tourist site, in this imaginary composition.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0