Horse in an Indian Encampment

The present work likely depicts a Sioux Indian encampment near Fort Laramie, which was then part of the Nebraska Territory. In 1859, Albert Bierstadt joined Colonel Landers on a surveying expedition throughout the West, marking the artist’s first visit to the region that would help form the basis for the rest of his career and result in such notable works as Indians Traveling Near Fort Laramie (1861, American Western Art Museum--The Anschutz Collection, Denver, Colorado) and Lander’s Peak (1863, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). It was probably the experiences on this trip, which included a visit to Fort Laramie, that inspired the present painting. Sitting below Laramie Peak along the North Platte River, Fort Laramie was originally a fur trading post that, at the time Bierstadt visited, was the site of numerous peace negotiations between the fledgling American government and the Native American tribes in the area. Bierstadt was fascinated by the scenery and people, taking several stereographs and painting studies. In the present work, the striking mountains and Indian encampment form the perfect setting for Bierstadt’s equestrian subject.