Brett Grill depicts Alten carrying his paint-box and easel as he sets out to paint en plein air. The plaque reads:

"German-born American artist Mathias Joseph Alten immigrated to the United States in 1889 and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the entirety of his career. While his work was invluenced by the landscapes and techiques he discovered in his travels, he remained deeply connected to rural Michigan landscape. Over his career, Alten created mor than 3,000 works of art initially influenced by the Barbizon and Hague Schools and later by the Impressionism movement. He repeatedly sought out and celebrated traditional laborers and nostalgic settings even as modernization transformed life in the early 20th Century."

Over 2,000 of Alten's paintings may be viewed on-line at https://alten.gvsuartgallery.org/catalogue-raisonne

The George and Barbara Gordon Gallery in GVSU's Richard M. DeVos Center, across Fulton Street from this site, displays many of his finest paintings.