<HTML dir=ltr><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=unicode"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16705" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>Folks were on top of things to identify the geyser as Old Faithful and that it was painted by Bierstadt as this is certainly what one finds on the internet.  However, Karen and I both think that OF should not have what looks like another geyser erupting in the background and so we assume this is a case of artistic license by Bierstadt. If we extend the artistic license argument, we debated whether it could be Mortar in the foreground and Fan in the background or elses a monster eruption of Lion but these suggestions do not really seem plausible either.   Probably a case of the artist wanting to paint something that might sell and using the OF moniker to help it sell.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2><A href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Bierstadt_Albert_Old_Faithful.jpg">http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Bierstadt_Albert_Old_Faithful.jpg</A>  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My limited checking reveals that Bierstadt visited YNP around 1881 and actually painted two, but somewhat similar, versions of Old Faithful.  One of the originals apparently sold in the US for about $1.7 million not too long ago which makes me think that the one that Karen and I saw hanging on a wall was not that one.  But then again it could have been the other original.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The painting that we saw was on display at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.  We were on a guided group tour this past July through the palace when, lo and behold, we spied a geyser painting across the way.  I managed to take this picture of it before being herded along to the next stopping point by the group momentum.  Of course, we have no idea of the provenance, but the Ottomans were wealthy beyond belief and could have easily bought this piece.  This is certainly a more romantic notion than figuring it's a mere reproduction.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here is a link to Wikipedia (so factor in some inaccuracy) about the Palace.  <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmabahce">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmabahce</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sree Koka</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>