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Albert Bierstadt
American, 1830-1902
Butterfly
Signed Albert Bierstadt (lr)
Oil and ink on paper, possibly with watercolor
5 1/8 x 8 inches

Provenance:
Mary Hicks Stewart Bierstadt, the artist's second wife
Martha Hicks Lee, niece of the above
John Michael Lee, son of the above
Thence by descent to the present owner

Albert Bierstadt was known for his impromptu paintings of butterflies, created in tour-de-force performances as souvenirs for guests and admirers. In Albert Bierstadt: Painter of the American West, Gordon Hendricks wrote of one such occasion that took place in New York in 1892, but it appears that Bierstadt was producing these small butterflies as early as 1872.

In Yosemite Indians and Other Sketches [San Francisco: Johnck and Seeger, 1936], Mrs. H. J. Taylor included an account by the son of Cutler McAllister, a prominent San Francisco pioneer. M. Hall McAllister wrote, "Bierstadt was a frequent visitor at my father's residence, having brought a letter of introduction on his first coming to California. This was way back in the sixties but I well remember his visits. He was evidently fond of children as he drew little sketches of all kinds for us. I well remember his visit in 1872 for one incident especially. One day after lunch he took our children's paints and quickly penciled the outline of a butterfly with open wings. He then painted one wing, folded the two wings together, then opened them to the admiring glances of the children as they beheld the complete butterfly."

The White House collection includes several of these charming compositions, created for the family of Rutherford B. Hayes. The present undated work was owned by Bierstadt's second wife, Mary Stewart and descended in the artist's family to the present owner.