Cliff House & Bay of San Francisco
By Albert Bierstadt
n.d.

This view of the Cliff House, a popular seaside resort in San Francisco, recalled a place that Frederick and Julia Billings knew well from their years residing in that city. The painting has been called unusual for Bierstadt, because it depicts the sea and shore – a less common theme in his best-known work – and because he includes a building as a small but key element of the composition.

Oil, canvas. 44x75 cm
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, MABI 4422