Great Falls (Missouri River) - The Great Falls in Art

The Great Falls in Art

The first known drawing of the Great Falls was entered by Meriwether Lewis in his diary. In 1807, Lewis commissioned the Irish engraver John James Barrelet to make drawings of the Great Falls. After Lewis' death in 1810, William Clark visited Lewis' home and found the drawings, but they have since disappeared.

The Great Falls have been depicted in well-known paintings over the years. The waterfalls may be seen in the background of John Mix Stanley's large painting "Barter for a Bride" (originally titled "A Family Group"), which was painted some time between 1854 and 1863 and now hangs in the Diplomatic Reception Room in the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C. The noted Western painter O. C. Seltzer depicted the cataracts in his 1927 work, "Lewis and Clark With Sacajawea at the Great Falls of the Missouri, 1804."

The first known photograph of the Great Falls was taken by noted Western photographer James D. Hutton about 1859 or 1860.