Robert F. Morgan papers, 1866-2011

Robert F. Morgan was born in Helena, Montana, on August 20th, 1929, to John P. and Catherine Morgan. As a child, Morgan attended Warren School, a small one-room building, in the Helena Valley. The school would later be condemned after receiving severe damage from the 1935 earthquake, which forced the school administration to hold classes in a nearby bunkhouse. After attending his first art class, taught by Mable (Norris) Bjork, at Helena High School in 1943, Morgan became interested in art and its components. Under art teachers Tom Edwards and Fred Robinson, Morgan began to pursue fine art as a career. While in school, Morgan designed posters and built window designs advertising the U.S. Navy War Bond Drive for Fliegelman’s Department Store. In 1947, Morgan graduated from Helena High.

From 1947-1948, Morgan served in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Shortly after, Morgan began his twenty-year career with the Montana Army National Guard. In the fall of 1948, Morgan married his high school sweetheart, Genevieve Basti. Together, the couple had five children: Jeannie, Robert M., Tim, Tom, and Susan.

In 1951, while employed with the Montana Army National Guard, Morgan began his fifty-year association with the Montana Historical Society. Invited by MHS director, Dr. K. Ross Toole, Morgan volunteered to work on several projects for the Society. Toole extended Morgan an offer of employment as an exhibits designer in 1952. Two years later, Toole appointed Morgan as assistant curator of the museum. As curator, Morgan was involved with the creation of the Territory Junction exhibit and the acquisition of the Poindexter Collection of abstract expressionist art. Morgan also participated in the restoration and assembly of three railroad cars for the exhibition of artwork, artifacts, sapphires, and gold for the Montana Territorial Centennial Train in 1964. That same year, the Centennial Train traveled – with Morgan aboard – to the World’s Fair in New York City. After the departure of Historical Society Director Michael S. Kennedy in 1966, Morgan served as Acting Director of the Society until 1967. Morgan returned to his role as curator until his resignation in 1972. For decades afterwards, Morgan served as a member of the MHS Board of Trustees until his voluntary resignation in 2008 under the Schweizer administration.

With encouragement from his friend, Ed Trumble, Morgan began his fine art career in 1972. Throughout his career, Morgan produced over 3,000 paintings. Many of Morgan’s paintings found permanent residence at venues such as the Sheraton Hotel in Billings, the Montana Historical Society, the Helena Regional Airport, the Montana Agricultural Center in Fort Benton, and the City-County Building in Helena. In 1978, Morgan co-founded the Northwest Rendezvous of Art with fellow artist Jack Hines. Three years before his death, Morgan was honored by the Helena City Commission and Senator Max Baucus with a “Bob Morgan Day” event held at the Helena Regional Airport. Morgan passed away in 2015 at the age of 85.