Art
The most notable feature inside the center of the Capitol building is the massive rotunda, with four circular paintings surrounding it. These paintings, were painted for the Capitol opening in 1902 by the firm of F. Pedretti's Sons, depict four important archetypes of people of Montana's early history: a native American (intended to be of Chief Charlo), an explorer and fur trapper (Jim Bridger), a gold miner (Henry Finnis Edgar, one of the discoverers of gold at Alder Gulch), and a cowboy (unidentified, but said to be inspired by the works of C.M. Russell). The Pendretti brothers provided additional commissioned artwork in the Senate and Old Supreme Court Chambers.
The western arch of the rotunda features the semi-elliptical painting "Driving The Golden Spike", painted by Amédée Joullin. The former State Law Library, now a set of committee rooms, features ten Montana landscapes created by Ralph E. DeCamp. The House of Representatives Lobby features six scenes depicting significant events in early Montana History by Edgar S. Paxson.
The most significant piece of art in the Capitol is by Montana's famous Western artist Charles M. Russell. The 1912 painting, titled Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flathead Indians at Ross' Hole, is 25 feet (7.6 m) long and twelve feet high. It depicts the explorers Lewis and Clark meeting Montana's Bitterroot Salish people upon their return across the Bitterroot Mountains from the Pacific Ocean. It is now displayed above the Speaker's chair in the House of Representatives' chamber.
Read more about this topic: Montana State Capitol
Famous quotes containing the word art:
“Blest with each talent, and each art to please,
And born to write, converse, and live with ease”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“The chief element in the art of statesmanship under modern conditions is the ability to elucidate the confused and clamorous interests which converge upon the seat of government. It is an ability to penetrate from the naïve self-interest of each group to its permanent and real interest.... Statesmanship ... consists in giving the people not what they want but what they will learn to want.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“We all agree now—by “we” I mean intelligent people under sixty—that a work of art is like a rose. A rose is not beautiful because it is like something else. Neither is a work of art. Roses and works of art are beautiful in themselves. Unluckily, the matter does not end there: a rose is the visible result of an infinitude of complicated goings on in the bosom of the earth and in the air above, and similarly a work of art is the product of strange activities in the human mind.”
—Clive Bell (1881–1962)