Treasured Landscapes

Albert Bierstadt
1871 – 1872

This view of the Cliff House, a popular seaside resort in San Francisco, recalled a place that Frederick and Julia Billings knew well from their years residing in that city. The painting has been called unusual for Bierstadt because it depicts the sea and shore—a less common theme in his best-known work—and because he includes a building as a small but key element of the composition.

Oil on canvas. L 44, W 75 cm.
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, MABI 4422