Kirby Lambert has been the Curator of Collections for the Montana Historical Society since 1989.  A native of Texas, he received his master of arts degree in Museum Studies From Texas Tech before moving to Helena in 1985.  As curator of Montana's museum, he helps care for and interpret the state's most notable treasures, including the art in the State Capitol.  Lambert has researched a wide variety of topics related to the museum's collections and is a regular contributor to Montana The Magazine of Western History and other periodicals. 

Born and raised in New England, Patricia M. Burnham received a doctorate in art history at Boston University in 1984, specializing in American art.  For the past ten years, her research has focused on American history painting.  In 1995, Cambridge University Press published Redefining American History Painting, a volume of essays she co-edited with Lucretia Giese.  It was her interest in history painting that prompted her to make the Capitol murals of Montana the subject of her recent studies. 

Susan R. Near joined the Montana Historical Society staff after receiving her master's degree in American History from the University of Delaware in 1981.  Director of Museum Services since 1989, Near is responsible for the curatorial activities, exhibitions, and educational programs for Montana's Museum, the Original Governor's Mansion, and the Montana State Capitol.  She has been curator for over twenty major exhibitions--including ones featuring Capitol artists Charles M. Russell and Edgar Paxson.  Near played a significant role in the recent Capitol renovation project, for which she served as the state's fine art consultant.