Albert Berghaus was an important American illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

 from the period immediately prior to the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 up to about the 1880s/1890's. He worked for Frank Leslie's Weekly

Frank Leslie's Weekly

Frank Leslie's Weekly, later often known in short as Leslie's Weekly, was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1852 and continuing publication well into the 20th century. As implied by its name, it was published weekly, on Tuesdays. Its first editor was John Y. Foster...

, 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

Frederic Remington

Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...

 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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, including the Smithsonian , the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

 , and the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

. In 1996, an original Berghaus sketch belonging to Jacqueline Kennedy that was purchased during her time as First Lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

 was sold at the Sotheby's

Sotheby's

Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...

auction of her belongings. Very few Berghaus originals exist in private hands.