Tethered Ram (after Sir Edwin Landseer), circa 1856

Chromatic pencil and charcoal with white chalk on toned paper

This early drawing attributed to Albert Bierstadt depicts a tethered ram on a rocky hillside overlooking a lake landscape. Executed in chromatic pencil and charcoal with white chalk highlights on toned paper, the work reflects the academic drawing practices Bierstadt developed during his formative training at the Düsseldorf Academy in the mid-1850s.

The composition closely relates to Sir Edwin Landseer’s well-known 1839 painting Tethered Rams (Victoria & Albert Museum, London). During the nineteenth century it was common for young artists to study and reinterpret masterworks as part of their academic training. In this drawing Bierstadt adapts Landseer’s composition while introducing his own atmospheric treatment of landscape and animal form.

Scholarly evaluation supports the attribution. The drawing was examined in person in May 2025 by Dr. Sarah Burns, Professor of Art History Emeritus at Indiana University and a noted scholar of nineteenth-century American art. Following her review, Dr. Burns concluded that the work is very likely an authentic early student-period drawing by Albert Bierstadt, created during his European training around 1856, possibly during his travels near Lake Lucerne in Switzerland.

Works from this early stage of Bierstadt’s career—before his famous American Western landscapes—are rarely encountered and offer insight into the artist’s development as a draftsman.

A complete research dossier accompanies the drawing, including comparative analysis, historical context relating to Bierstadt’s European travels, and Dr. Burns’s written opinion.

Artist: Attributed to Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902)
Title: Tethered Ram (after Landseer)
Date: circa 1856
Medium: Chromatic pencil, charcoal, and white chalk on toned paper
Dimensions: 14 x 21 3/8 in.
Signature: Signed “ABierstadt” lower right

The sheet shows age-related wear and areas of paper loss along the edges (largely covered by the mat). The drawing is housed in archival framing with conservation materials. Professional paper conservation may further stabilize the sheet.

Private collection; possibly associated with the collection of Leonard L. Milberg and Ellen Harriet Milberg of Rye, New York. Acquired from Antique Arena, Brooklyn, New York. Full provenance research and documentation available in the accompanying dossier.

In-person examination - May 2025

The work was personally examined at residence in May 2025 by Sarah Burns, Professor of Art History Emeritus, Indiana University, who is widely recognized for her scholarship in 19th-century American art. Following her formal review, Professor Burns provided the following opinion statement:

"This early drawing attributed to Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Tethered Ram, executed in 1856 during his formative period in Düsseldorf, Germany, depicts a finely observed tethered ram on the hillside of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, with attention to anatomy, form, and atmosphere; very similar in execution to his "Study of an Ewe" drawing of the same period. 

 

Works from this stage of Bierstadt’s early career, when he was still refining his skills before returning to America and embarking on his famed Western landscapes...are very rare and highly sought after.

 

In my professional opinion, as a historian of 19th-century American art, and based on my in-person examination in May 2025 as well as comparative study with early works from Albert Bierstadt’s Düsseldorf period, the drawing titled Tethered Ram (1856) is very likely an authentic early student work by Albert Bierstadt. This drawing is clearly a modified copy of Tethered Ram, Sir Edwin Landseer's 1839 painting now in the Victoria & Albert Museum. There was a widely circulated engraving after the Landseer work, and that was likely what Bierstadt used as his template. This is a scholarly opinion, not a formal authentication.

 

Sincerely,

 

Sarah Burns, Ph.D. Professor of Art History Emeritus, Indiana University Bloomington"

 

Notes: This lot includes a dossier and and opinion from Sarah Burns, Ph.D. Professor of Art History Emeritus for "Tethered Ram.

 

Her endorsement, combined with the comprehensive comparative research in my dossier, supports the strong attribution to Albert Bierstadt.

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