  We present the results of a near-infrared monitoring program of the Anomalous
X-ray Pulsar 1E 2259+586, performed at the Gemini Observatory. This program
began three days after the pulsar's 2002 June outburst, and spans ~1.5 years.
We find that after an initial increase associated with the outburst, the
near-infrared flux decreased continually and reached the pre-burst quiescent
level after about one year. We compare both the near-infrared flux enhancement
and its decay to those of the X-ray afterglow, and find them to be remarkably
consistent. Fitting simple power laws to the RXTE pulsed flux and near-infrared
data for t>1 day post-burst, we find the following decay indices:
alpha=-0.21+/-0.01 (X-ray), alpha=-0.21+/-0.02 (near-infrared), where flux is a
function of time such that F is proportional to t^alpha. This suggests that the
enhanced infrared and X-ray fluxes have a physical link post-outburst, most
likely from the neutron-star magnetosphere.
