Restored murals installed at the O'Shaughnessy Center

by Daily Inter Lake
| January 15, 2016 10:45 AM

The Hockaday Museum of Art on Tuesday completed installation of two fully restored Glacier National Park murals at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish.

The murals are part of the museum’s ongoing project to restore 15 recovered murals donated to the museum by Leanne and Alan Goldhahn.

The 15 murals were originally painted to decorate the walls of Glacier National Park lodges, and were saved by Leona and Robert Brown of West Glacier when the murals were cut from their frames and discarded during lodge restoration in the mid-1950s.

The murals at the O’Shaughnessy represent the fifth and sixth pieces that have been restored by the Hockaday.

The unsigned, untitled murals now on display at the O’Shaughnessy Center include a 4-by-7.5-foot piece that features a familiar Lake McDonald scene and a larger 4-by-9-foot work showcasing glaciers from the high country.

Both of the works were specified “Dining Room” on the backs as their original location, with no mention of the lodge in which they were originally displayed. Restoration for the fifth and sixth murals was made possible by a grant from the BNSF Foundation with assistance by art conservationist Joe Abbrescia Jr.

Since the Browns’ granddaughter Leanne and her husband, Alan Goldhahn, donated the murals to the Hockaday in 2012, it has been the goal of the museum to have the murals restored and then displayed in public places so that all Glacier National Park aficionados may enjoy them. The first four murals are at the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell.

Those wishing to contribute to the continued restoration of the murals may contact interim Hockaday Executive Director Barry Conger at 406-755-5268 or by email at director@hockadaymuseum.org.

The Hockaday is located at 302 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. The museum is a private nonprofit organization, open year-round from Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The mission of the Hockaday is to enrich the cultural life of our community and region, and preserve the artistic legacy of Montana and Glacier National Park.

The O’Shaughnessy Center is located at 1 Central Ave., Whitefish.

For more information, visit www.HockadayMuseum.org or call 406-755-5268.