In 1872 Bridgman began to travel to Spain and North Africa, focusing on Orientalist and archaeological subjects in places such as Tangiers and Algeria. While he moved on from Tangiers due to the poverty of the city, he found excitement and exoticism in Algiers, discovering scenes such as market crowds and fencing duels. During this time Bridgman was prolific in canvases, oil sketches, and drawings, often painting from his own photographs. Although he continued to travel in North Africa for the next five years, he still participated in the Paris Salons and exhibitions in London. A visit to Algeria with Charles Sprague Pearce brought about portrayals of Islamic monuments, street life and a journey up the Nile. The presence of Americans and Europeans in late nineteenth century Algeria was not unusual, as Algiers was a French colony at the time. For example, Pierre-August Renoir, like Bridgman and Pearce, was a frequent visitor to Algiers and similarly depicted traditionally dressed Algerians in a setting of Islamic architecture.

 

Throughout the next ten years Bridgman continued in the Orientalist style. He also worked with society portraiture, symbolism, and historical and Biblical themes, but did no have as much success as with his Orientalist works. The end of the nineteenth century brought several personal exhibitions and noteworthy sales, establishing Bridgman as a leading Orientalist painter. His work was praised for such qualities as honesty and freshness. He published two books, Winters in Algeria in 1890 and L’Anarchie dans l’Art, describing his thoughts on Impressionism, in 1898. Frederick Arthur Bridgman passed away in 1928 in Rouen, France.