State capitols in the heartland stand as enduring monuments to the meaning and value of our federal system that balances the power of the federal government with that of individual states. Dedicated in 1904, the Montana capitol in Helena is a wonderful piece of American Renaissance or neoclassical architecture that hearkens back to an ancient and noble past with its high domed rotunda, columns and marble. Paintings, drawn by local artists, depict significant events in Montana’s history. For example, in the four corner panels high in the rotunda typical Montanan figures are celebrated: a cowboy, a trapper, a prospector, and an American Indian –-- and under an arch, the golden spike ceremony for the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Whereas John Brown, the abolitionist, was the subject of the most prominent art work in the Kansas capitol in Topeka, the Montana capitol’s most prominent painting, “Lewis and Clark Meeting Indians at Ross’ Hole,” portrays a pivotal moment in the far west. Charles Russell (1864-1926), who is sometimes seen as echoing the vibrancy of Remington, created this over-sized 25’ by 12’ canvas for the wall directly behind the chair of the Speaker of the House. His mural depicts the Indian camp where the explorers successfully traded for horses to take them over the Bitterroot Mountains before the snows blocked their passage. Lewis and Clark, small dim figures on the far right of the canvas, are hardly visible. In this epic painting. Russell focuses on the Native Americans’ role in the success of the expedition. Undoubtedly, this image gave a message for the legislators to consider as they debated laws for Montana and all its citizens.
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