Albert Bierstadt Yosemite stamp

From Yenra

On August 15, 2008, the U.S. Postal Service dedicated the Valley of the Yosemite commemorative 42-cent first class stamp at the American Philatelic Stamp Show in Hartford, Connecticut. The stamp image is based on an 1864 oil-on-paperboard painting by landscape artist Albert Bierstadt. The original painting belongs to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The Albert Bierstadt: Valley of the Yosemite stamp, as the eighth issuance in the American Treasures series, is available nationwide today.

Albert Bierstadt painted the Valley of the Yosemite in 1864. The relatively small painting shares the freshness and immediacy of the sketches Bierstadt used in composing a much larger painting entitled Looking Down Yosemite Valley. Valley of the Yosemite evokes the unspoiled Western wilderness that Bierstadt so eloquently portrayed in his monumental panoramic landscapes.