Night Show

Medium

Acrylic on canvas

Dimensions

48” x 60”

Price

$30,000

While Buffalo Bill's Wild West is often remembered as a daytime outdoor spectacle, the advent of electric illumination allowed the show to expand into the evening hours. For audiences accustomed to the dim glow of gaslight or kerosene lamps, the sight of hundreds of performers and animals illuminated by powerful electric lights was a marvel of modern innovation. By the late 1880s and 1890s, electric illumination had become an attraction in its own right. To support evening performances, the Wild West eventually traveled with its own generators and electrical equipment, bringing the spectacle of modern electricity to towns and cities around the world.