People

The Abstract Art of Artist Henry Meloy

Henry Meloy (1902- 1951) was an American artist who grew up in Townsend, Montana. This digital exhibit discusses Meloy’s abstract works, one of the many art styles that he perfected during his career. It discusses what abstraction in art is, its historical context and importance, and how it relates to Henry Meloy. The article presents Meloy’s experiments with five varieties of abstraction across his career.

Bicycles for the Army: The 25th Infantry in Montana

The military has long served as a testbed for new technologies. Late 19th century Montana was the site of one of these technology demonstrations, as the United States Army ran a series of lengthy excursions utilizing the world's latest technological darling - the bicycle. Operating out of Fort Missoula, the men of the 25th Infantry Regiment covered several thousand miles of mud, mountains, and open plains. These men - African-American Buffalo Soldiers - were celebrated by parades, and mobbed by fascinated onlookers. They were led by a young white officer who sought to redeem himself from graduating last in his class at West Point. Together, they rode seemingly impossible distances, carrying backbreaking loads on heavy bikes, navigating primitive roads, and enduring brutal weather.

Evelyn Cameron

Born as Evelyn Jephson Flower on August 26, 1868, Evelyn was the fifth of six children of the wealthy, well-off Flower family. She grew up in sophisticated English society, spoke French and Italian, and rode side-saddle. In 1889 she married Ewen Cameron, an eccentric Scotsman with a deep love of ornithology and the outdoors who had accompanied her older brothers on hunting trips years prior. Evelyn herself loved the outdoors, and for their honeymoon the Camerons made a trip west to Montana where they spent their time exploring and hunting in the eastern badlands on a guided expedition. Falling in love with the landscape, the wildlife, and the rugged way of pioneer life, the Camerons returned to Montana in late 1891 to establish their own lives in the newly formed state. Evelyn and Ewen established their first of what would eventually be a series of “Eve” Ranches, all located within range of the town of Terry, Montana along the Yellowstone River. They set out to breed and raise polo ponies that would eventually be sold back to those in British society. When their pony endeavor ended poorly, the Camerons suffered a great financial loss and ended up losing their ranch and returning to England.

The Chinese in Montana

Chinese migrants first came to Montana in the 1860s with other fortune seekers drawn by the discovery of gold. While Chinese miners did work in the gold fields of southwestern Montana, by the 1880s and 1890s most worked in laundries, restaurants, gardens, and other service industries. Reaching a peak of more than 2,500 Chinese Montanans in 1890, their work was key to helping the development of Montana, though their presence was not always appreciated.

Marcus Daly

Marcus Daly was an Irish immigrant who left an indelible mark on the history of Montana. The influence of his legacies continues to be woven into the events of present-day life in Montana.

Frenchy Duret

Readers have always delighted in the macabre, whether laced with maudlin sentimentality or not—and whether truth or legend—or some soul-satisfying combination of the two. In the West even now, commercial writers capitalize on the destructive powers of Ursus horribilis, the great mountain grizzly, and allow the aficionados of horror a delicious shiver along their spines. The bigger the bear, the more monstrous; the more horrendous the dismemberment, the more tantalizing.

One such gory repast was that of the Joseph B. “Frenchy” Duret mauling in June of 1922. Even into the next year, newspapers from as far away as Texas and Tennessee picked up the story and reprinted it—using the details of the original Butte Sentinel reports and embellishing them with impunity. Several contemporary authors have taken those same details and used them verbatim: a good husband telling his wife he will return with yet another pelt, taking gun, knife, and dogs; a good wife worrying about her husband and running up and down hills to search for him or his remains in the dead of night—and, of course, the monster, the gigantic bear who has or will serve as progenitor to a rare and terrifying subspecies.

Fraternal Orders in Montana

This exhibit will show the many fraternal orders active throughout Montana's history, a sampling of some of their members, some of their noteworthy events, and the impressive buildings they constructed.

F. Jay Haynes

Famed Western photographer Frank Jay Haynes, known more commonly as F. Jay Haynes, was born in 1853 in Michigan. His early work centered on the expansion of the American railroad into the West. In 1881 he became the official photographer of Yellowstone National Park.

L.A. Huffman

Late 19th century photographer L.A. Huffman was known for his stirring action shots of the West. These included views of cowboys in action and scenes of the ranching way of life. He captured noteworthy images of Native Americans, both dignified portraiture and important images of the Native lifestyle. Of particular significance is his visual documentation of the hunt and slaughter of the bison on the plains, before their near extermination.

Dorothy M. Johnson

The western fiction genre is rife with scenes of the violent, lawless west and is the realm of the male author. Yet, one Montana woman stands out as a prolific western storyteller who made an indelible mark on the writing world.

The Life and Mysterious Death of Thomas Meagher: Rebel, Fugitive, War Hero, Political Activist, and Territorial Governor

Thomas Meagher was born in Ireland in 1823. Convicted as a rebel in Ireland, he was banished to Tasmania, and eventually escaped to the United States. He rose to fame leading the Irish Brigade during the Civil War, and later resettled in Montana. His brief tenure as Acting Governor of the Territory ended in controversial tragedy.

Helen McAuslen

McAuslan was a modern artist who lived in Montana for several decades. She created art inspired by her life in Montana and her travels abroad. McAuslan was a contemporary of other renowned Montana artists including Jessie Wilber, Frances Senska, and Robert and Gennie DeWeese. While she was inspired by many cultures, the rugged beauty of the Rockies is what captivated McAuslan to relocate to Montana and convey that beauty through her work. The artwork in this collection explores McAuslan’s experience of Montana’s landscape and the beauty of the world.

Henry Meloy

Henry Meloy was a multi-talented working man's artist through the first half of the twentieth century, he experimented and honed his skills in a wide array of artistic styles, and studied techniques in several artistic movements. Born in Townsend Montana in 1902, over the course of his life he had witnessed two World Wars, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and the American Great Depression which he recorded in his artwork. The body of his life's work is a window into the history of the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s in both Montana and in New York City.

Montana’s Cartoonist and Storyteller Stan Lynde

Myron Stanford “Stan” Lynde was born September 23, 1931 in Billings, Montana. He was raised on a cattle and sheep ranch near Lodge Grass, the Crow Indian Reservation, and the Little Big Horn Memorial Battlefield. According to his sister, Loretta, their mother gave him crayons and paper and taught him to draw to keep him occupied. 

Bud Moore

William Robert 'Bud' Moore was a well-known Montana forester, trapper, conservationist, and author of 'The Lochsa Story: Land Ethics in the Bitterroot Mountains.

Charlie Russell

Charles Marion Russell was born in St. Louis in 1864. He grew up on a large farm, and developed an early fascination with art and the West. He merged these two interests into a life in Montana and a career that earned him the nickname "The Cowboy Artist." His paintings, drawings, and sculpture capture the essence of the cowboys, Native Americans, and wildlife that populated the West.