Centuries-old painting of second Ft. Crawford bought from private owner
The Prairie du Chien Historical Society purchased this 1842 oil painting (artist unknown) of the second Fort Crawford from a private owner, with donations given in memory of Eric Temte and Fred Huebsch. It is going to be conserved and put on permanent display at the Fort Crawford Museum. The boat in the foreground contains Surgeon Charles McDougall and his orderly on a hunting trip.
By Correne Martin
How would an 1842 oil painting of the second Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien end up in California? The historians at the Fort Crawford Museum would like to know, since the Prairie du Chien Historical Society recently purchased the painting from a private owner, who acquired it himself over 25 years ago.
“He contacted us and wanted to sell it,” said Mary Antoine, PdCHS president. “He had purchased it from an antique dealer from California.” But, how the painting got to California in the first place remains uncertain. The name of the artist who created the piece is also unknown.
On the contrary, the historical society is knowledgable about the history of what the painting depicts. A hand-written label adhered to the back of the canvas states:
“Fort Crawford, on Mississippi River, at mouth of Wisconsin River. Painted by a guest visiting Gen. Chas. McDougall (at that time the post surgeon) in 1842. The boat in foreground contains Dr. McDougall and his orderly on a hunting trip.”
Antoine said she was told the artist may have been standing on what was once known as “Bum’s Island,” west of today’s Fort Crawford Museum.
The painting is clean and comes from a smoke-free environment but it’s in “so-so condition,” according to Antoine. “It has some paint loss and areas where, I’m afraid if it were displayed, it could lose more paint,” she said.
Barry Bauman, a painting conservator from Chicago, has been commissioned to restore the painting. It will be personally driven there and back, in order to assure the work is carefully transported. He works solely for non-profit organizations and charges for materials only. Bauman is currently conserving two more of the St. Mary’s Academy murals, and he has also done work for the Villa Louis and Wisconsin Historical Society. In restoring it, he will heat the picture in order to transfer the work onto a new canvas. Then, he will back-paint some of the small areas where paint was chipped.
The PdCHS acquired the painting, in its original gold-leaf coated pine frame, with donations given in memory of Eric Temte and Fred Huebsch, both longtime board members of the society.
Once it’s conserved, the artwork will go on permanent display in the Fort Crawford hospital, inside a shadow box, Antoine said.
The intricate image is of the second Fort Crawford, on which construction began in 1829. Soldiers of the United States Infantry were stationed at the post until 1856. During the Civil War, the fort barracks were used as a recruiting and gathering place. For a while, the post was called Camp Messmore. From November 1864 through September 1865, the Fort Crawford hospital and at least one of the barracks housed sick and wounded soldiers from Minnesota regiments. This was part of the Swift U.S. Army General Hospital. Beginning in 1867, the U.S. War Department sold the buildings for the stone and the property of the Fort Crawford Military Reservation. Only the hospital structure remained. When part of the east wing was taken off for the construction of Beaumont Road, the hospital building declined into ruins. It was saved, restored and is now part of the Fort Crawford Museum.
Surgeon Charles McDougall was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. He studied medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as an assistant surgeon on July 12, 1832. In at least 1834 and 1835, he was stationed at Fort Winnebago in Michigan Territory (now Portage, Wis.). He was promoted to surgeon in 1836. After serving in Florida during the Seminole War, McDougall was transferrred at the end of 1841 to Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien. His daughter, Pamela Frances, was born while he was stationed locally. Surgeon McDougall continued his assignment at Fort Crawford through October 1845. He was transferred to West Point and then returned to the Mississippi Valley, stationed at Fort Snelling Minnesota Territory from April 1853 until November 1854. McDougall continued to serve through the Civil War, retiring in 1869.
Once the historical society receives the finished piece, it will be on permanent display in time for the 2017 season.
