Charles Russell was a cowboy with a purpose. Witnessing and participating in the waning days of the legendary American West, he recorded what he saw in paintings and in sculpture. He became one of America's most popular and successful artists, and in 1911 his adopted state commissioned him to paint Lewis and Clark's meeting with the Oollashoot Indians for the state capitol in Helena. Russell was further honored by being selected to be one of Montana's representatives in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. The frame house where the artist lived from 1900 to 1926 was moved a short distance in 1973. The adjacent log studio he built in 1903 is now a museum honoring him.

Credits and Sources:

Information courtesy of the National Park Service.