The Atlanta Cyclorama, a mammoth, in-the-round depiction of the July 22, 1864, Battle of Atlanta, is billed as the largest oil painting in the world.

But now there is a new kid on the block.

NICK ARROYO/AJC (ENLARGE)

The Gettysburg Cyclorama is taller, wider and heavier than the Atlanta Cyclorama (pictured), which has shrunk over the years because of damage and repair. With the $15 million restoration of the Gettysburg painting, Atlanta can no longer claim its cyclorama as the world's largest oil painting. Before getting permanent homes, both cyclorama paintings were traveling exhibits.

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The newly renovated Gettysburg Cyclorama, which will open to the public at the historic Pennsylvania battlefield in September, has been restored to its original 42 feet in height and 377 feet in circumference. That trumps the Atlanta painting by about 798 square feet.

Atlanta's cyclorama was originally 50-by-400 feet when it was painted in 1885-86, but damage over the years has reduced the total area to 42-by-358-feet.

Both are impressive works of art — paintings embellished with dioramas that create a 3-D effect. Both depict battles that were not only turning points in the Civil War, but of lasting significance to the communities in which they occurred. Both are rare survivors of an era when monumental paintings would tour the country and draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to experience a sort of 19th century Imax. And they are the only two such cycloramas on display in this country.

"Ours is much better. That's my story and I'm sticking to it," said a tongue-in-cheek Keith Lauer. The director of the Atlanta Cyclorama welcomed larger than usual crowds this week at the Grant Park attraction during the 144th anniversary of the battle.

Here's how Atlanta makes out against Gettysburg in the Battle of the Big Pictures:

BATTLE OF ATLANTA CYCLORAMA

Origin: A team of artists in Milwaukee called the American Panorama Company painted the work during the years 1885-86.

Purpose: As a campaign promotional device for unsuccessful vice presidential candidate Gen. John Logan.

Size: It was 50 feet high and 400 feet in circumference when completed. Because of damage and repairs, it was reduced to 42 feet tall and 358 feet long.

Weight: 9,334 pounds

First displayed: 1887, in Detroit

Facility: The painting is located in Grant Park, adjacent to Zoo Atlanta, housed in the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum, built in 1921 by architect John Francis Downing.

Restoration: Atlanta's painting underwent a $15 million overhaul in 1979-81.

Subject matter: The painting depicts the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864, near present-day Moreland Avenue; Kennesaw Mountain and Stone Mountain loom in the background.

Audience: About 100,000 a year. They see the painting from a unique revolving bank of seats, revealing the work's full circumference, as a narrator retells the story of the painting and the battle.

To learn more: www.bcaatlanta.com/index.php?pid=81

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG CYCLORAMA

Origin: It is the second of four versions of the Battle of Gettysburg that French artist Paul Philippoteaux painted between 1882 and 1884. One other survives, in the hands of private owners.

Purpose: As popular entertainment and moneymaker.

Size: 42 feet in height, 377 feet in circumference.

Weight: 12.5 tons, including the weight of the cornice that overhangs the upper edge.

First displayed: 1884, in Boston.

Facility: A 15,000-square-foot Cyclorama Gallery in the new Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park.

Restoration: A $15 million restoration program will be completed in the next two months, that, among other things, has removed a glue-encrusted backing and added 14 feet of sky to the painting. The new sky was created by contemporary artists with reference materials that included original studies and meteorological reports from the time period.

Subject matter: The painting focuses on Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863, the bloody high point of the Battle of Gettysburg, when the fighting turned in the Union's favor.

Audience: About 1.3 million a year. Visitors are free to walk about a raised platform that puts the viewer's sight-lines at the level of the horizon, which helps to perpetuate the illusion of immersion in the painting.

To learn more: www.nps.gov/gett/