William Jacob Hays, a friend of Bierstadt’s, was awestruck by the bison herds along the Missouri, and wrote, “On my way down the river I saw thousands of buffalo; they covered the bluff and prairie as far as we could see.” But on his journey west in 1860, Hays also recognized ominous warning signals for the great herds.
Upon his return to New York, Hays responded by creating a triptych of three large paintings to show the looming threat to the seemingly innumerable bison in the American West.
William Jacob Hays (1830–1875). A HERD OF BISON CROSSING THE MISSOURI RIVER, 1863. Oil on canvas. Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, WY. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Trust Fund Purchase. 3.60
