George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879) Inducted - Monday, February 15, 2010 Sculptor: Sabra Tull Meyer Speaker: Ron Richard Where is George Caleb Bingham in the Hall of Famous Missourians? George Caleb Bingham was a 19th century American painter of the American West. The majority of Bingham's paintings and virtually all of his drawings are held in American museums, with the largest selection of paintings at the St. Louis Museum of Art. Much of Bingham’s best work generally relate to life and commerce along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and to the American scene involving the people of Missouri in and around St. Louis, Columbia, Jefferson City, Arrow Rock, Boonville, and Kansas City. During a career of 45 years, Bingham was increasingly singled out as “The Missouri Artist” and he could in fact be considered the state’s first artist. Bingham was elected twice to the Missouri House of Representatives on the Whig Ticket, once in 1846, but the election was contested and his opponent was declared the winner by the Democratic House. He was elected again in 1848 and served the entire term. Sometime during the Civil War (1861-1865) he was appointed by the Governor to serve as State Treasurer and he also served as Adjutant General of Missouri in 1875-76.