Staff Writer

A Trenton artist's depiction of Lewis and Clark's Newfoundland dog Seaman was recently purchased by members of the Discovery of St. Charles re-enactors.

Art instructor Nadine Anthony found herself on the banks of the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers upon their arrival in late April. She was taking pictures, and seeking new material for her water color and oil paintings. The 200th anniversary of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark exploration of the Louisiana Purchase proved ideal subject matter.

"I was doing the photos on the shore when one of the Corps' men was admiring my beadwork. He wanted know where to get the beads. He had just broke a hand-made clay bead and wondered where to find another. I gave him mine."

"The next day I got to school, and they were doing presentation. They were looking for leftover leather scraps for clothing. Capt. (Bud) Clark saw the Seaman picture and wanted to take it with him," Anthony said. It was sent to a museum in St. Charles, Mo. with other pieces and crafts collected along the journey of the Louisiana Purchase. Anthony believes it may later be displayed in a mobile of the modern day journey.

She was inspired to paint Seaman when the dog was a featured subject during a recent reading month activity. "We used the theme of Seaman for the art class," she explained.

She began with preliminary sketches of what she envisioned the animal to be and built them up with larger classes. "I went from pencil, to water color and then I went to oil," she said.

She said Bud Clark, the great-great-great grandson of explorer William Clark, liked the painting, and he took some furnished beads, a peg game and leather scraps.

Using photographs of Bud Clark, Anthony's next project is to develop a photograph of him in expedition period clothing portraying William Clark.

Anthony has taught at the Eight Mile School District since January of 2003. She taught at Dickinson State University.

She became a professional painter in 1966.

"They did a beautiful program at the school. The students asked a lot of good questions. The students knew what was going on at the expedition," she said.

She found twins Janyce Hunt of Herman, Neb. and Joy Neihardt of Laverne, Ariz. very nice to work with and talk with. They are 1958 graduates of Trenton High School.

Anthony said she finds ample artistic talent in the students of Trenton. Unlike her past experiences teaching, she said a majority like art.

Anthony's classes consist of the typical painting, but also of Native American arts and crafts.

She studied art through the University of Nebraska while still in high school and the Art Institute of Nebraska. While teaching at DSU, she took several more courses.