Holy Cross Mountain Colorado

By

Libor Klein

Mount of the Holy Cross is a high and prominent mountain summit in the northern Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,011-foot mountain is located in the Holy Cross Wilderness of White River National Forest, 6.6 miles west-southwest (bearing 244°) of the Town of Red Cliff in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The summit of Mount of the Holy Cross is the highest point in Eagle County and the northern Sawatch Range.

This mountain has been the subject of painters, photographers and even a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ("The Cross of Snow"). Thomas Moran depicted the mountain in an oil painting, which now is part of the collection of the Museum of the American West, part of the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, California.  It is still much photographed but it is not as well known today as it was in the past.

The mining town of Holy Cross City was established in 1880 to serve the growing mining operations around the region. In 1883, the Holy Cross City Trail was built to the town, but the town was depopulated from a peak of 600 people the next year.

Mount of the Holy Cross was named for the distinctive cross-shaped snowfield on its northeast face. Under USDA Forest Service administration, the mountain was proclaimed "Holy Cross National Monument" by Herbert Hoover on May 11, 1929. The monument was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. In 1950, it was returned to the Forest Service and lost its National Monument status—the number of visitors to the mountain and the nearby "Pilgrim's Hut" had waned, and the expense of full-time staff could not be justified.

Libor Klein:  Born in Austria on April 14, 1858.  Klein settled in San Francisco in 1898 and married artist Lillie V. O'Ryan.  For 45 years he worked as a mining engineer until retirement in 1918.  He was listed as an artist in the city directory from 1926.  The Kleins lived in San Francisco until his death on Dec. 1, 1933.
Edan Hughes, author of the book "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Death Record

Note:  This is a 19^th century oil on canvas that has been mounted on board.  A paper sticker on the board has Libor Klein.  This might have been written on the back of the canvas.  I am not familiar with the paintings of Libor Klein, nor know his signature.

Painting:  16" high by 20" wide

Frame:  20-3/8" high by 24-3/8" wide