The first one is a huge painting at the front of the House of Representative hall. It is a Charles M Russell painting called "Lewis and Clark Meeting Indians at Ross' Hole. The second picture is a close up of the area on the right. It shows Lewis & Clark waiting while translations are made. It portrays Lewis & Clark Expedition when they met the Salish Indians in the Sula Basin area in southwestern Montana. They were looking for a northern pass by which they could cross the mountains. It was intended to be from the Indian's prospective therefore L & C are really minor players in the picture.
The painting was commissioned in 1911 when the wings of the Capitol were under construction. The canvas is 25' by 12' and was painted in his log cabin sudio in Great Falls. It was so large that the roof of his studion had to be raised to accommodate the mural. Extensive consrvation work was done in the 1960s and 70s to protect, preserve and repair the mural. Originally the painting was mounted on an outside wall that subjected it to extremes changes in climate. A wall was added to the outside of the building to minimize the problems.
I wish my granddaughter Jessica could have been with us here. She is an art major in college and could have really enjoyed seeing this fabulous painting as I think you all would have.
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