Women in the Archives Research Guide

Many pieces of rich and beautiful art have been created by Western women, including women who worked or lived near Bozeman itself. The physical art collection in the archives is quite small, but it reflects some important female contributions to art over time. In the Hannon collection, you can find a variety of Native American photographs and designs. The Donaldson collection also reveals some beautiful watercolors and illustrations.

This collection includes a number of photographs and 35 mm transparencies, primarily focused on the Blackfeet, Crow, Chippewa-Cree, and Northern Cheyenne people of Montana. These materials were either taken by Olga Ross Hannon or collected by her. Emphases of the collection include lodge designs and costuming.

Within this large collection are a variety of watercolor illustrations and pencil drawings. Designs and drawings were done by Olga Ross Hannon, Paio-Taki (Flying Woman), and various other women and Native Americans.

James M. Hamilton's papers contain a collection of "notes, rough drafts, final drafts, correspondence and photographs created or collected by Hamilton and [Merrill G.] Burlingame in the preparation of From Wilderness to Statehood and History of Yellowstone National Park Previous to 1895." Within the materials for From Wilderness to Statehood are pen and ink sketches by Betty Ryan, an artist.