Label
2024, “Endangered Art: Reclaiming a Legacy”
Niagara Falls is attributed to Albert Bierstadt, a renowned landscapist known for his grandiose paintings of the American West. Decades before the painting entered the Mulvane collection, it sustained severe water damage from a burst pipe. Treatments were attempted over the years, some of which caused more harm to the work. At the time of its 2023 restoration, Niagara Falls was in poor condition. After thorough inspection and testing, conservators cleaned grime and overpaint from the work, stabilized weak structural elements, and added pigment to areas of paint loss. They coated the painting with protective varnish and cast molds to recreate the frame’s missing pieces.