C.A. Grende

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Carol Grende was born in Idaho in 1955 to a family who nurtured her love of history and the outdoors.

Her mother is Lila O’ Connell. Grende, a native Montanan and a second-generation cowgirl, was raised on the breaks of the Missouri river. “We loved to listen to grandpa and grandma’s stories of the old days. Those are some of my favorite memories. We spent as much time as we could going to visit them in Montana. We traveled over the Lewis and Clark trail on hwy 12 over Lolo pass. I always looked for the trails and any other traces along the way and I still do.”

“I have ridden horses my entire life, exploring trails of the Snake and Clearwater rivers of Idaho, studying the history and depicting events of the Lewis and Clark expedition for many years.”

In 1977 Carol did a series of drawings and oil paintings for the State of Idaho’s Hell’s Gate Park on the Snake river near Lewiston, Idaho. She has painted many oils of historical events many are in permanent and private collections.

Carol has followed the art shows for over 30 years, attending the C.M. Russell show at least 20 times during these years. She has shown through out the United States and as far away as London, England. She has been in many publications; her work is in permanent displays in museums such as the National Cowgirl Hall Of Fame in Ft. Worth, Texas and the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma.

Carol’s most recent honor was to be asked to attend the Western Governors Conference at Big Sky, Montana as one of Montana’s premiere artists.  There she sculpted a piece titled Sacajawea “Arduous Journey” in the Quick Draw event benefiting the Montana Hope Project, Carol sold three castings of the piece in the auction raising several thousands of dollars for the benefit.

Another passion for Carol is teaching art. “Teaching gives me the most satisfaction of anything I do, to help others enjoy art and the love of personal expression.”

During the creation of her latest work of art, a monument titled “When They Shook Hands, The Lewis and Clark Expedition Began”, Carol included her students in the process. “It was a blessing to have talented artists to help me in this endeavor; it was a learning process for us all and a miracle that we all finished this monument in this short length of time. Many people helped in many ways to make this possible. From the start of the point up to the start of the mold making process was only eight weeks.”

The monument will be permanently placed at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center, in Clarksville, Indiana. The placement will be very dynamic; a local company will bring in a huge natural rock quarried from the limestone beneath the Falls of the Ohio which in Geological Time goes back to the Paleozoic Era- Carboniferous Period of Amphibian Life from over 250,000,000 years ago, The stone is 12 feet long, by 9 feet tall, by 6 feet wide and will weigh over 100 tons. The 10 foot tall monument will be placed on top and a large bronze plaque telling the story of these two Captains: Men of Undaunted Courage. 

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Sacajawea Gallery - 301 Main st. Stevensville, MT 59870 - (406) 777-3806