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Corcoran and Cody: The Two Versions of "The Last of the Buffalo"Author(s): Dare Myers Hartwell and Helen Mar ParkinSource: Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, Vol. 38, No. 1, Albert Bierstadtand 19th-Century American Art (Spring, 1999), pp. 45-54Published by: Maney Publishing on behalf of The American Institute for Conservation of Historic &Artistic WorksStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3179837 .

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CORCORAN AND CODY: THE TWO VERSIONS OF THE LAST OF THE BUFFALO

DARE MYERS HARTWELL AND HELEN MAR PARKIN

ABSTRACT--Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) painted two versions of The Last of the Buffalo: a large one in the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washing- ton, D.C., and a somewhat smaller version in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. The two paintings are similar but not identical in construction, palette, and design. In the Cody painting, the same compositional elements are smaller, and the internal space is compressed. Both paintings contain many of the same design changes and pentimenti, indicating that one is not a copy of the other. The authors use contem- poraneous evidence to formulate a hypothesis as to why, and in what order, Bierstadt painted the two versions. Cross sections reveal a graphite-containing layer between the canvas and the ground in the Cody painting, tying this painting to others painted in the 1880s. Surface texture and condition of both paintings are discussed in relation to materials used and previous treatments. Finally, the retexturing and inpainting of a large, compositionally important area in the Cody painting are discussed in detail.

TITRE-Corcoran et Cody: Deux versions du tableau The Last of the Buffalo. RESUME--Albert Bierstadt (1830-1920) cr6a deux versions du tableau The Last of the Buffalo (Le Dernier des Bisons): une toile de grande dimension main- tenant au Musee d'art Corcoran a Washington, D.C., et une autre de plus petit format dans la collection du Centre historique Buffalo Bill, a Cody au Wyoming. Les deux tableaux sont similaires, mais diff6rent par leur construction, palette et composition. Dans le tableau de Cody, les -l6- ments de composition sont de plus petites dimensions et l'espace int6rieur reduit. Les deux tableaux comprennent plusieurs changements

similaires dans leur composition et des repen- tirs, ce qui d6montre qu'ils ne sont pas des copies l'un de l'autre. En utilisant des preuves contem- poraines A l'artiste, les auteurs formulent une hypoth'se sur les raisons pour lesquelles et dans quel ordre chronologique les deux versions furent peintes par Bierstadt. Pour le tableau de Cody, des coupes transversales r velent une couche contenant du graphite entre la toile et la preparation, ce qui relie ce tableau a d'autres peints lors des ann es 1880. La texture de la surface et l'6tat des deux tableaux sont discut s, en ce qui a trait aux materiaux utilis6s et aux traite- ments de restauration antdrieurs. Enfin les re- touches et la texturation de la surface d'une section importante de la composition du tableau de Cody y sont aussi d6taill6es.

TITULO--Corcoran y Cody: las dos versiones de "El iltimo de los buifalos". RESUMEN-Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) pint6 dos versiones de "El iltimo de los buifalos" (The Last of the Buffalo), una de gran tamai-o que esta en la Galeria de Arte Corcoran en Washington D.C., y una ver- si6n m~s pequefia que esta en el Centro Hist6ri- co de Buffalo Bill en Cody, Wyoming. Las dos pinturas son similares pero no id6nticas en su construcci6n, paleta y disefio. En la pintura de Cody, los mismos elementos de la composici6n son m~s pequefios y el espacio interno esta com- primido. Ambas pinturas contienen muchos de los mismos cambios de disefio y pentimentos, in- dicando que una no es una copia de la otra. Los autores usan evidencia contemporanea para for- mular una hip6tesis con respecto al porque y en que orden, Bierstadt pint6 las dos versiones. Los cortes estratigraficos revelaron la presencia de una capa que contiene grafito entre el lienzo y la

JAIC 38 (1999):45-54



46 DARE MYERS HARTWELL AND HELEN MAR PARKIN

Fig. 1. Albert Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, 1888, oil on canvas. 152.8 x 245.2 cm (60 1/4 x 96 1/2 in.). Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, acc. no. 2.60

capa de preparaci6n en la pintura de Cody, conectando esta pintura con otras pintadas alrededor de 1880. La textura de la superficie y el estado de ambas pinturas se discuten en relaci6n a los materiales utilizados y tratamientos previos. Finalmente se discute en detalle el retexturado y la compensaci6n por perdida de un area grande y composicional- mente importante en la pintura de Cody.

I. INTRODUCTION

In 1888, in preparation for the Paris Exposi- tion the following year, Albert Bierstadt

(1830-1902) began work on the last of his large Western showpieces and his most important late painting, The Last of the Buffalo. Probably because by this date Bierstadt's work was considered passe, the painting was rejected by the American selection committee for the exposition, causing a minor sensation in the press and much pain to the artist. Bierstadt subse-

quently sent the painting to the exposition on his own, which he was entitled to do as a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor (Hendricks 1988). Today, of course, the painting is one of the icons of American art and among the most treasured holdings of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (fig. 1).

For many years the Corcoran painting was considered to be the only version of The Last of the Buffalo, but about 1955 another was found in England and brought to the United States by a dealer (Nicholson 1956). The second painting eventually entered the collection of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming (fig. 2). By coincidence, both works underwent conservation treatment in 1984-85, precipitating this investigation into the relationship of the two paintings. The Corcoran painting was treated by the museum's conservator, Dare Myers Hartwell; the Cody painting was treated by Perry Huston and Helen Mar Parkin of

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Fig. 2. Albert Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, 1888, oil on canvas. 180.5 x 301.5 cm (71 1/8 x 118 3/4 in.). Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., gift of Mary (Mrs. Albert) Bierstadt, 1909, acc. no. 9.12

Perry C. Huston and Associates, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas.

2. ANALYSIS

Both paintings are executed in an oil-based paint on medium-weight, tabby weave linen canvas and are remarkably similar in appearance. How- ever, the Corcoran painting is 11 1/8 in. taller (28.2 cm) and 22 1/4 in. wider (56.5 cm) than the

Cody version. The Corcoran painting had been lined twice prior to 1984 and was not mounted on its original stretcher. Nevertheless, its tacking margins indicate that within approximately one-

quarter inch these are the original dimensions. The dimensions of the Cody painting represent those of the stretcher added during a restoration undertaken about 1955, just prior to its sale. The dealer had the painting lined and mounted on a new stretcher because he considered the original panel-back stretcher, a type often used by Bier- stadt, too heavy (Nicholson 1956). The tacking margins have been irregularly cut off and part of the farthest antelope to the left is missing, sug- gesting that more has been cut off along the left than along the other sides. Nevertheless, a com-

parison of the two compositions indicates that

the Cody version is substantially complete, and the difference in size cannot be accounted for by the painting's having been cut down.

Instead, because of its smaller size the Cody painting is slightly reduced in scale in relation to the Corcoran painting. Compositional elements are smaller, and the internal space is compressed. For example, the large standing buffalo at left is about 10% smaller in the Cody version. The com- pression of space is most apparent in details, such as the distance between the animals in the

right foreground; in the Cody painting the buffalo are much closer together, and less of the dead horse is visible between them. Other dif- ferences, less important to the sense of space, also occur; in the Cody painting, the buffalo at the right center edge are running, while in the Corcoran version they have fallen to the ground.

While the Corcoran painting has a slightly warmer (more yellow) palette, particularly in the

sky, both paintings follow the technique estab- lished by Bierstadt early in his career. Cross sections reveal a thick lead-white preparation over which thin, relatively opaque layers of oil paint have been applied to build up the design (Berrie and Palmer 1986, 1988a, 1988b). In the Cody painting, however, between the canvas and the

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Fig. 3. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Corcoran

Gallery version, photomicrograph of a cross section from the blue sky, 410x. Photograph by Michael R. Palmer

Fig. 4. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Buffalo Bill

Historical Center version, photomicrograph of a cross section from the blue sky, 410x. Photograph by Michael R. Palmer

Fig. 5. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Corcoran

Gallery version, detail of an infrared reflectogram of a pentimento of an antelope. Photograph by Dare

Myers Hartwell

lead-white preparation there is an additional black layer that is not present in the Corcoran

painting (figs. 3, 4). This black layer was found to be a mixture of graphite with some clay and trace amounts of red iron oxide in linseed oil (Lomax 1989; Palmer 1989). Graphite grounds have been found on other Bierstadt paintings from the

1880s, and it is possible that the artist applied this

layer as a protective coating for the canvas. The

Cody painting, however, is the only work in which the graphite is covered by a lead-white

Fig. 6. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Buffalo Bill Historical Center version, x-radiograph of a pentimento of an antelope. Courtesy of Perry C. Huston and Associates, Center for the Conservation of Art, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

ground. It is possible that by this time Bierstadt was beginning to realize the problems, such as

poor adhesion and darkening of the paint, asso- ciated with a graphite ground. Bierstadt's use of a graphite ground layer is discussed further by Hartwell (1999).

Analysis of the paint in the sky reveals that in both paintings the blue is composed of a mixture of natural ultramarine and cobalt blue (with a

slight predominance of the former) with lead- white. Analysis of the dark green at the left tack-

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Fig. 7. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Corcoran Gallery version, detail showing a pentimento of a large mounted figure drawing back on a bow in the area of the lead running horse. Photograph by Dare Myers Hartwell

ing margin of the Corcoran painting reveals the presence of Prussian blue and lead chro- mate (chrome yellow), a combination known as chrome green, with barium sulfate added,

possibly as an extender. The texture of the canvas is clearly visible

through the paint and ground in both paintings. In addition, both paintings have a curi-

ously granular surface appearance, in contrast to the smoother surfaces that Bierstadt's paintings usually exhibit. It is possible that Bier- stadt may actually have textured the ground layer. In the Corcoran picture the paint suffers from a lack of binding medium, which in- creases the granular effect. In the course of

treatment, the paint was found to be quite frag- ile and poorly attached to the ground, with

pinpoint losses throughout. In the Cody painting the granular appearance is intensified by an overall pattern of tiny wrinkling in the

paint, which could have been caused by inad-

equate adhesion between the slick, greasy graphite layer and the lead-white ground or between the ground and paint, a condition

perhaps exacerbated by the glue lining. Abra- sion from previous cleanings has made the surface texture more apparent in both paintings, particularly the Cody, in which extensive

damage has occurred in the dark paint layers of the foreground. In the darks of the Corcoran

painting there is also a small network of

shrinkage cracks through which the white

ground is visible. These cracks do not appear in the Cody picture. They may be the result of

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Fig. 8. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Corcoran Gallery version, infrared reflectogram of the pentimento shown in fig. 7. Photograph by Dare Myers Hartwell

Bierstadt's handling the paints differently for each palette; in this late period he tended to

experiment with materials in a manner not found in his earlier, more technically orthodox

paintings. Hartwell (1999) explores this subject further.

3. RELATIONSHIP OF THE TWO PAINTINGS

There are numerous studies for individual elements in the composition of The Last of the Buf- falo. However, no sketch for the entire painting exists, and it is apparent that the overall com-

position was still being worked out by Bier- stadt as he painted. Many changes in location and scale of figures can be found in the middle

ground of both paintings, and, in fact, certain areas appear to contain the same design change. Some of these changes are visible on the surface of the painting as pentimenti, while others are revealed by x-radiographs or exam- ination with the infrared Vidicon camera. For

example, a pentimento of an antelope is visible in both paintings immediately to the right of the standing buffalo at left (figs. 5, 6). At the

right between the rearing horse and the buffalo herd, both paintings have a pentimento of a

large mounted figure drawing back a bow (figs. 7-10). It should be noted that the scale of these

pentimenti differs from that of the surrounding figures, indicating that Bierstadt was moving compositional elements back and forth in space

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Fig. 9. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Buffalo Bill Historical Center version, detail showing a pentimento of a large mounted figure drawing back on a bow. Courtesy of Perry C. Huston and Associates, Center for the Conservation of Art, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

in an effort to create a satisfactory recession from

foreground to background. Compositional sketches are rarely found for

Bierstadt's large studio paintings, and design changes, particularly in the middle ground, are not uncommon. However, the number and scale of the changes in The Last of the Buffalo seem to indicate that Bierstadt had more than the usual

difficulty working out the composition in both

paintings. Furthermore, the presence of similar

design changes in two large versions of a painting may be unprecedented. It eliminates the pos- sibility that one painting is a copy of the other and leaves the relationship between the two

paintings puzzling. In an unidentified and undated newspaper

clipping titled "No Place for Bierstadt-'The Last of the Buffalo' excluded from the Paris Exposi- tion," Bierstadt is quoted as saying, "That is the

Fig. 10. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Buffalo Bill Historical Center version, x-radiograph of the pentimento shown in fig. 9. Courtesy of Perry C. Hus- ton and Associates, Center for the Conservation of Art, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

study (pointing to a huge painting) for the picture now in the Salon" (Bierstadt scrapbook). Be- cause the Corcoran version is unquestionably the one sent to the Salon, it seems likely that the artist was referring to the Cody picture. If one trusts the accuracy of this account, the Cody picture must be the preliminary version. However, we know that Bierstadt did not normally paint studies for entire compositions and certainly not on this scale. Furthermore, the numerous

changes in scale and location of figures in both

paintings indicate that Bierstadt was not able to solve the problem of spatial relationships in the

"study." Although we cannot be certain without further documentary evidence, it seems likely that, in order to deal with these spatial problems, at some point in the painting process the artist decided to switch from the Cody picture to the

larger format of the Corcoran picture, in which

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Fig. 11. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Buffalo Bill Historical Center version, before treatment (but with clean- ing tests) in 1983. Courtesy of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

the space is much more successfully realized. Bierstadt could have transferred the design of the "study" to the larger canvas and then re- fined it. If he then returned to the Cody picture and completed it, as seems likely, it would have been at this point that he painted out such details as the antelope and the additional mounted figure. He also apparently decided to abandon the graphite ground entirely for the Corcoran painting, which may account for the fact that it is in better condition.

4. TREATMENT

Today, the most dramatic compositional difference between the paintings is the absence in the Cody version of a 10 1/4 in. x 8 7/8 in. area (26 x 22.5 cm) at left center, removed at some point in the past. The large standing buffalo at left, seen in the Corcoran painting turn-

ing toward the viewer and eyeing the mounted figure at right, is missing in the Cody

painting, replaced by a canvas insert that has a much smoother surface texture (fig. 11). The reason for this violent intrusion upon the artist's intention is not clear.

During the treatment of the Cody painting, this missing buffalo presented a challenging in-

painting problem. Peter Hassrick, director of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, had ex-

pressed a wish that the insert not be removed and that its outline be left visible under certain

viewing conditions to document the actual ex- tent of original design and the history of the treatment of the painting. The removal of re-

paint in this area revealed that the insert had been cut from another painting and depicted part of a crudely painted brown-and-white cow. It had been glued in upside down, then

repainted to blend with the surrounding land-

scape (fig. 12). Upon close inspection, traces (the reddish brown tip of the hump and the

long shadows below the hooves) of the buffalo that had originally occupied the space were

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Fig. 12. Bierstadt, The Last of the Buffalo, Buffalo Bill Historical Center version, detail of the canvas insert.

Courtesy of Perry C. Huston and Associates, Center for the Conservation of Art, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

discovered on the undamaged surface of the

painting adjacent to the insert. Based on this con- firmation of the placement, Hassrick decided that the missing buffalo should be reconstructed.

Before inpainting could be carried out, however, it was necessary to adjust the surface texture in the insert area so that it would be less notice- able to the viewer. The painting was first given a brush coat of Soluvar Gloss varnish (a propri- etary acrylic resin, probably an n-butyl methacry- late/n-butyl acrylate copolymer, made by Binney and Smith for Liquitex). When the varnish had dried completely, an impression was taken of the surface adjacent to the insert area, using a two-

part silicone rubber mold material first used by Gregory A. Thomas, painting conservator, to take surface impressions of paintings (Dow Coming RTV 3110). To take the impression, a 1/8 in. (.3 cm) deep dam, slightly larger than the insert, was constructed using strips of four-ply mat

board. The liquid mold material was then trow- eled carefully into the area and smoothed until it

entirely filled the dam. It was allowed to cure

overnight, after which the finished mold was

peeled slowly away from the painting, resulting in a detailed negative reproduction of the surface texture.

The mold was placed face up on a large hot

plate and warmed to approximately 200'F. Molten microcrystalline wax (Bareco Victory White, melting point 165?F) was brushed thinly onto the mold. Meanwhile, the area of the insert was warmed with an incandescent light held close to the surface, while the surrounding area of the painting was protected from overheating by strips of aluminum foil. The warm, waxed mold was then turned face down onto the area of the insert and pressed into place, using the fin-

gertips, for several minutes until the wax cooled. The mold was then peeled away slowly. The thin wax layer remained on the surface of the painting, transferring the texture to the insert area. The edges of the waxed area were then textured

locally with a dental tool to blend with sur-

rounding areas, thereby softening the transition line.

A 35mm color slide of the corresponding area on the Corcoran painting was projected onto the textured area and adjusted until it lined up pre- cisely with the remaining original clues of the

hump and shadows below the hooves. (In fact, because of the preciseness of this fit, it is tempt- ing to speculate that Bierstadt may originally have used lantern slides to transfer some of the

composition elements from the Cody to the Cor- coran painting.) The outline of the buffalo was then drawn, and the inpainting was completed using dry pigments ground in poly(vinyl acetate) AYAC (Union Carbide). An 8 x 10-in. (20.3 x 25.4) color transparency of the Corcoran buffalo and a steel plate engraving made after the Corcoran

painting were used for reference in the recon- struction. By reintegrating this important design element into the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's

Last of the Buffalo, the painting has been returned more closely to Bierstadt's original intention.

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Viewed under normal gallery lighting condi-

tions, the final result is quite satisfactory and al- lows us to experience once again the full impact of Bierstadt's vision.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to express their appreci- ation to both the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center for the support of their research, and in particular wish to thank

Perry Huston, Nancy Anderson, Franklin Kelly, and the staff of the Scientific Research Depart- ment at the National Gallery of Art who carried out the technical analysis of both paintings.

REFERENCES

Note: All unpublished reports are available upon

request from the authors.

Berrie, B. H., and Palmer, M. R. 1986. Analysis re-

port/Bierstadt, A./The Last of the Buffalo/9.12 Corcoran Gallery. Corcoran Gallery of Art, Wash-

ington, D.C.

Berrie, B. H., and Palmer, M. R. 1988a. Analysis

report/Bierstadt, A./The Last of the

Buffalo/Owner: Buffalo Bill Historical Center

(Cody, WY). Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washing- ton, D.C.

Berrie, B. H., and Palmer, M. R. 1988b. Analysis

report/Bierstadt, A./The Last of the Buffa- lo/9.12/Owner: Corcoran Gallery. Corcoran

Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Bierstadt scrapbook and documents. Joyce Ran-

dall Edwards Collection, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Hartwell, D. M. 1999. Bierstadt's late paintings: Methods, materials, and madness. Journal of the

American Institutefor Conservation 38(1):33-44.

Hendricks, G. 1988. Albert Bierstadt. New York:

Harrison House.

Lomax, S. Q. 1989. Analysis report/The Last of the

Buffalo/Bierstadt/The Buffalo Bill Historical Cen-

ter, Cody, WY/Analysis of media of ground sam-

ple. Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Nicholson, J. P. 1956. Letter to Horace L.

Hotchkiss, Jr., curator, February 20. Corcoran

Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Palmer, M. R. 1989. Analysis report/Bierstadt, A./Analysis of ground layers from five paintings. Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The report is published as an appendix to Hartwell 1999.

DARE MYERS HARTWELL has been the chief

conservator at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Wash-

ington, D.C., since 1983. She has a master's de-

gree in art history from the University of Min-

nesota and received her conservation training at

the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Institut

Royal du Patrimoine Artistique, Brussels, Bel-

gium. Her study in Brussels was funded by a

Fellowships for Museum Professionals grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She

was previously the assistant painting conservator at the Upper Midwest Conservation Association

in Minneapolis and the associate conservator at

the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.

HELEN MAR PARKIN is the chief conservator at

the Taft Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. She re-

ceived a master's degree in museology from the

George Washington University in 1971 and a

master's degree and certificate of advanced

study in painting conservation from the Cooper- stown Graduate Programs, State University of

New York, in 1974. She has worked at the

Worcester Art Museum, the Kimbell Art Muse-

um (Andrew W. Mellon Fellow), with Perry Hus-

ton and Associates, and at the Intermuseum Lab-

oratory. She is an AIC Fellow and an associate

member of the International Institute for Con-

servation.

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