In the restoration of The Domes of the Yosemite — the monumental 1867 canvas by Albert Bierstadt — ArtCare Conservation played a key role, carefully removing the painting from its massive frame at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum in Vermont, transporting it to Miami, repairing tears in the original canvas, adhering it to a stabilising liner backing, stripping away decades-old synthetic varnish and applying a natural varnish to restore its vibrant colour and depth.

This treatment not only revived one of Bierstadt’s most iconic works — one that compresses Yosemite Valley’s grandeur into a dramatic, near-three-dimensional panorama — but also underscored ArtCare’s expertise in conserving large-scale historic paintings with both aesthetic integrity and preservation rigour.

By helping safeguard a piece of 19th-century American landscape art and enabling its renewed public display, ArtCare contributed meaningfully to the ongoing mission of the Athenaeum to preserve its cultural collection for future generations.

Follow the links to read an article about our restoration of this painting, as published by St. Johnsbury Athenaeum.