"Bierstadt and Fitz Hugh Ludlow traveled past Mount Shasta on their trip to the West in 1863 and returned there in 1880. While this mountainous landscape readily recalls other of Bierstadt’s images of western peaks, like those of Mount Hood, its traditional composition stems from the artist’s training in Dusseldorf."

"'Sunset Glow, Mount Shasta' also imbues in its viewers spiritual inspirations and national pride, albeit for different reasons. While this magnificent landscape painting does not depict one of the world’s great natural phenomenon, it does capture the glory and beauty of nature in its pristine state."

The present work retains its original panel-back stretcher, and is presented in a period frame that is very likely original to the work. Bierstadt used panel-back stretchers for much of his career. Quite distinct from traditional stretcher bars, the panel-back variety presents a sheet of wood across the back of the panel.

When the arctic painter William Bradford moved into the Tenth Street Studio Building in 1860, Bierstadt impressed upon him the value of the panel-back stretcher for uses in extreme conditions. Bradford took up the device and used it almost exclusively for his arctic expeditions. The ability to travel anywhere and everywhere must have appealed to Bierstadt as well.