Archives West Finding Aid

The Bozeman Art Association was founded about 1934 as the Bozeman Chapter of the American Federation of Arts. The purpose of the organization was to finance the expense of bringing traveling exhibits of fine art to Bozeman for public display. Closely tied with the Montana State College community, the exhibit hall of choice for the organization was the fireplace room of Herrick Hall, a classroom building on campus constructed in 1926. Meetings were mostly held at Herrick Hall or in the homes of the organization's members, which included Olga Ross Hannon, Jessie Wilbur, and Isabel Haynes. In 1953 the group severed its relationship with the American Federation of Arts and renamed itself the Bozeman Arts Association. By 1961 interest in the organization began to wane as other venues and financing opportunities became available for art exhibitions in Bozeman. The group became inactive and its assets were finally closed out in February, 1968.