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four years after the expedition, following the Colonel’s death during the Civil War, and
named the Peak in honor of his friend.
The painting was widely admired, as it aptly captured the mystique and beauty of the
AmericanWest. It was sold by Bierstadt for the hefty sum of $25,000 in 1865, prompting
the artist to commission an engraving after the composition. It took James D. Smillie
(1833-1909) three years to craft and publish the grandiloquent print. Bierstadt closely
monitored the design of the engraving, checking in on its progress in New York,
sometimes daily, and requesting frequent proofs from the engraver.
[4,000/6,000]