Archives West Finding Aid

Frank G. Meinhart was born on March 16, 1874, in St Louis, Missouri. Frank moved to Butte, Montana, around 1899 and soon thereafter began work as a sign painter for Schatzlein Paint Company. He worked there for a few years and then began taking contract painting jobs. By 1910, Mr. Meinhart built a large enough clientele to open his own sign painting business, located at 119 S. Main. He remained in Butte until the late 1920s, at which time he relocated his family to Hamilton, Montana.

In addition to his sign painting, Frank Meinhart drew some income from cattle ranching. In 1902 Mr. Meinhart entered into a business arrangement with Joseph Maurice, a ranch owner near the Wise River in Beaverhead County. Meinhart purchased forty head of cattle, which Maurice agreed to care for over a period of five years. The two were to share the profits accordingly. Maurice, however, died in 1907. Meinhart was made executor of his estate and took control over the ranch at that time.

Frank Meinhart was a self-taught painter whose art works focused on wildlife and Native American portraits. He is credited with starting a sketch club in Butte to assist local artists. Meinhart was prolific and gained local recognition for his work through small exhibits in towns across Montana. Some of his work was included in an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., as part of the Victory Poster Contest held during World War II.

Frank Meinhart and Louise Espenscheid were married in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 1, 1905. The newlyweds relocated to Butte where they lived until about 1927. They had one son, Russell H. Meinhart, who died at the age of eight as a result of a tooth infection. Frank Meinhart died in Hamilton, Montana, on May 20, 1947. Louise Meinhart died in Missouri in 1959, but she was buried in Montana near her husband and son.