Ralph DeCamp and his Art in the Montana State Capitol

Join famed Montana landscape artist Ralph DeCamp (as impersonated by MHS Tour Guide Steve Palmer) in a first-person examination of the ten large murals that adorn the former Law Library in the east wing of the state capitol.   When DeCamp received the commission for the capitol work in 1911, spent several months traversing the state, searching for the perfect vistas to serve as subjects for his murals.  When suitable scenes were located, he sketched and photographed extensively on site, then returned to his studio to produce preliminary studies for our approval.  A native of New York state, Mr. DeCamp came to the Montana in 1886 by way of Moorhead, Minnesota, where his family relocated when he was a youth.  Mr. DeCamp first came to Montana in 1882 while traveling at the behest of the Northern Pacific Railroad for whom he produced a number of fine paintings which that company subsequently put to use in its various campaigns promoting our spectacular region.