Paint Me a River

Trivia: The largest painting ever made was Panorama of the Mississippi, completed by the American John Banvard in 1846. It was a strip about 5000 feet long by 12 feet wide. The painting was destroyed when the barn on Long Island, New York, where it was stored, burned down in 1891.

Class Discussion Point: If the painting burned down, how do we know it ever existed or was as large as claimed?


Follow Up: The largest painting now in existence is The Battle of Gettysburg, completed in 1883. It took Paul Philippoteaux of France and 16 assistants two-and-a-half years to paint the 410-foot-long picture. It is 70 feet high and weighs nearly five-and-a-half tonnes. The painting is now in a private collection in Winston-Salen, North Carolina, US.

Patronising Closing Remark:
"Size alone, of course, is no guide to quality."