Albert Berghaus

Albert Berghaus (fl. 1869-1880) was an important American illustrator from the period immediately prior to the Civil War up to about the 1880s/1890's. Little is known about Berghaus, who worked for "Frank Leslie's Weekly", also known as "Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper", producing sketches and wood engravings of important events in contemporary American history. After the Civil War, he traveled in the west, and in the late 1870s he collaborated with Frederic Remington to illustrate "Tenting on the Plains," an account, possibly a magazine article, by Mrs. George Custer.

Original works by Berghaus are extremely scarce and held in the some of the most prestigious public collections in the United States, including the Smithsonian [ [http://www.civilwar.si.edu/slavery_brown6.html John Brown Brought Out for Execution ] ] , the Library of Congress [ [http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tr22c.html Reason Gallery C: American Treasures of the Library of Congress ] ] , and the White House. In 1996, an original Berghaus sketch belonging to Jacqueline Kennedy that was purchased during her time as First Lady was sold at the Sotheby's auction of her belongings. Very few Berghaus originals exist in private hands.

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