A detail of the 374-foot long painting depicting the 1864 Battle of Atlanta. The 374-foot long painting is moving to the Atlanta History Museum Thursday.
Photo courtesy of Valerie/Flickr
Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The Atlanta History Center began a two-day project Thursday to move a 12-ton, 374-foot-long painting depicting the Civil War's Battle of Atlanta.
The 130-year old oil painting will move from its current home in Atlanta's Grant Park area to the History Center on two flatbed trucks carrying the work on two custom-built spools. The logistical adventure precedes a planned seven-month restoration of the artwork, including the return of seven feet of sky across its top, once removed so the painting could fit in its current building.
The painting, if laid flat, would cover half a football field. At 374 feet long and 49 feet tall, it was the largest oil painting in the world when it was finished in 1886.
The artwork is an example of a cyclorama, a popular, if labor-intensive, depiction of a historical event. In this case it portrays the 1864 Battle of Atlanta between Union and Confederate forces -- also depicted in the 1939 film Gone With the Wind -- and its theme is heavy on battle charges, flags unfurled, cannons firing, soldiers dying and other gory elements of war. A cyclorama painting requires a round room so that it surrounds viewers, who walk the room's circumference to see the artwork's details. A precursor to modern movies, and with similarities to contemporary films made in the IMAX process, the paintings offered an immersive experience for patrons.
The Atlanta painting is one of three panoramas made in the cyclorama style still on display in North America.
"No other object can so vividly tell the story of how attitudes toward the Civil War have been shaped and reshaped over the past 150 years. When combined with our extensive Civil War collections, expert staff, and educational programming capacity, The Battle of Atlanta will become one of the best tools in the nation to demonstrate the power of the use and misuse of historical memory," said Atlanta History Center Sheffield Hale in a statement.
After moving, restoration and the addition of excised square footage of sky, the painting will be revealed to the public in 2018.
