Ƶ

Skip to main content

1987: 50 Works for 50 Years

John Banvard

"The Castle"

John Banvard (1815 – 1891) became an international figure with his "Gigantic," "Original," "Moving Panorama of the Mississippi," "Missouri and Ohio Rivers," shown during 1846 to 1852 in such cities as Louisville, Boston, New York, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Bath, London and Paris, and before such dignitaries as Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and friends at Windsor Palace.

Banvard returned to America a wealthy man, built “Glenada” on Long Island, and established what became Daly’s Theatre in Manhattan. “Glenada” appears in many of his paintings, including "The Castle," usually in an imaginary European setting.

He lost his fortune in the Panic of 1877 and in 1880 moved to Watertown where a son lived. There he painted, produced a diorama of moving paintings, sounds, and lights, "The Burning of Columbia," and wrote poetry under the pseudonym, Peter Pallette.

Explore "50 Works for 50 Years"

South Dakota Art Museum makes no representation that it is the owner of any copyright in the works of art in its collection. It is the user’s responsibility to obtain necessary permissions and pay required fees for the use of copyrighted material. Users are held fully responsible for any infringement of copyright.