In this small landscape, perhaps painted at about the time of the Walters commission (1858 – 1860), Miller depicts a lone Indian on horseback perched on a small bluff in the left foreground. He is dressed in what might be ceremonial attire as he views the majestic setting around him. Another Indian races up from behind to join him.
These mountain lakes, which Miller wrote, “are now as fresh and beautiful as if just from the hands of the Creator,” inspired him to make a prediction: “A single Lake and Mont Blanc are the wonders of Europe, but here are mountains and lakes reaching from Tehuantepec to the Frozen Ocean in the North, or upwards of 50 degrees—nearly one seventh part of the globe—ample room and verge enough, one would think, for a legion of tourist.” (Ross, 1968, text accompanying plate 59)
Miller’s small, jewel-like landscapes have often been negatively compared to the later and more famous compositions of Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, but now may be enjoyed for their quieter and gentler depiction of some of the West’s most spectacular scenery.
