On August 1, 1960, Buffalo-native Charles Cary Rumsey’s portrait of the sixteenth-century Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro was moved to a new location facing Elmwood Avenue.
Moving Charles Cary Rumsey's Pizarro to the west side of the museum on August 1, 1960. Image courtesy of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Digital Assets Collection and Archives, Buffalo, New York.
Rumsey’s work initially took the form of a 19-foot-high plaster sculpture. While the monumental plaster version was ultimately destroyed, several bronze casts were made in the 1920s. These included several small editions; two full-scale versions that were presented to the cities of Trujillo, Spain (where Pizarro was born) and Lima, Peru (the city Pizarro founded following his conquest of the Inca); and the unique medium-sized bronze that the artist’s son and daughter gave to the museum in 1952.
Today, Pizarro is one of nearly 20 sculptures on the Albright-Knox's campus. We invite you to explore these works anytime, whether you decide to come inside the museum or not. Learn more
