In 1859 Albert Bierstadt accompanied Frederick W. Lander on a western expedition.

On his return he painted a mountain landscape on a large 6-by-10-foot (1.8-by-3.0-meter) canvas, The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak.

Following the death of General Lander during the Civil War in 1862, Bierstadt named the peak Lander's Peak.

[1] The painting was completed in 1863 and sold in 1865 for $25,000.