Auguste Bartholdi, the French sculptor and painter best known for designing the Statue of Liberty, was born in Colmar in 1834. After a brief training in painting, he shifted his focus to sculpture. In the 1870s, he embarked on a significant journey to the United States to identify the ideal site to host his monumental, iconic Statue. This experience left a lasting impression on the artist: during his stay, Bartholdi finalised his vision for the creation of the Statue of Liberty, a global symbol of freedom, progress, and unity that was completed in 1884 and was gifted to the United States by the French government in 1886.
This trip, which led him to explore the country from East to West, and hence to discover the cities of New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Cincinnati amongst others, also enabled the artist to explore the American wild landscapes, notably the mountains of Nevada and the vast plains of California.
Although Bartholdi is primarily known for his sculptural work, he was an accomplished painter and watercolourist. His talent is epitomised by the drawings he produced during his American stay. Our watercolour, whose composition and colour palette are comparable to those of the sheet held at the Musée Bartholdi (fig. 1), showcases the chromatic and spatial harmony of the landscape, with the two horsemen crossing through the plains harmoniously integrating their surroundings.