Main Stope Gallery - 14 S Dakota Street, Butte MT

Main Stope Gallery - 14 S Dakota Street, Butte MT A gallery of original fine art by member artists: jewelry, sculpture in clay, wood, metal; paintings, digital photography, three dimensional.

Member artists: Ray Campeau, Gregg Edelen, Laurel Egan, K. Jodi Gear, Karen Hueftle, Dave Johnson, Toni Seccomb

04/30/2026

You have to come see Dave's show! Almost done hanging, opening tomorrow!

Starting to hang some fabulous pieces by Dave Johnson, our May artist. "Sticks and Stones: Earth Art" opening this Frida...
04/29/2026

Starting to hang some fabulous pieces by Dave Johnson, our May artist. "Sticks and Stones: Earth Art" opening this Friday for the first Friday Art Walk, May 1st, 5pm - 8 pm. Hope to see you all there!

Opening night!
04/03/2026

Opening night!

Sneak peek at a few of the pieces being hung for our next show, "Ryijy" - works by Butte artist Rachael Marjamaa. Openi...
04/03/2026

Sneak peek at a few of the pieces being hung for our next show, "Ryijy" - works by Butte artist Rachael Marjamaa. Opening Friday April 3rd, 5pm - 8pm. See you all there!

03/08/2026

Found a ring in the street near the gallery, describe it and we'll get it back to you.

Sneak peek at the show we hung today, "Ancestral Memory" - the work of our guest artist , Rachel Driscoll. Show opens to...
03/05/2026

Sneak peek at the show we hung today, "Ancestral Memory" - the work of our guest artist , Rachel Driscoll. Show opens tomorrow evening, Friday March 6, from 5pm - 8 pm. Hope to see you all here!

02/27/2026

When the wind blows, this old building's ghosts serenade us. 😁

02/27/2026

MAIN STOPE GALLERY History
Part Two By Ray Campeau

The original art group, which had been together at Ray Campeau’s painting class at Sally Bowen’s home, acquired the 126 South Main Street location from a young couple, Gene and Leslie Lohbeck, who had bought most of the one-hundred block of South Main Street to open a coffee shop. The Lohbeck’s renovated the two-story space at 104 South Main and opened the Blue Venus coffee shop. Our obligation was to restore the adjacent space at 126 South Main. Our group devised a plan.
We divided our group into three working groups to (1) plan to develop the space (2) set parameters for membership and (3) plan for gallery exhibits.
Group One: Begin the major reclamation and restoration of space. This included floor removal and repair; add picture hanger molding for hanging; and construct a work station for sales.
Group Two: Develop membership. This was somewhat complicated. We wanted artists with their own individual styles. Each member must have time to sit and assist running the gallery. A membership fee had to be established.
Group Three: Arrange exhibitions of members and guest artists. This group had to plan sales operations and set fees for members and guest artists. They needed to set up the gallery operation as a “not-for-profit” organization (we are currently a general partnership). Each member would receive 90% of their sales. Guest artists would receive 70% of their sales. The percentage remaining would be used for operating expenses.
We began by repairing the badly broken rear entry and outside stairs. We painted walls and repaired the leaky roof. We built a counter near the back as a business work area and created a storage space. We replaced locks on both front and back doors. As the finishing touch, Ray used gold leaf (for the first time!) to paint “Main Stope Gallery” on the front window. We decided that only original paintings, sculpture, hand crafts, and prints would be handled, reproductions would not be allowed.
It was decided that membership fees would be established after the gallery was up and running and we had a handle on the monthly expenses. We interviewed several applicants wanting to join the gallery. The gallery hours would be 10:00am to 5:00pm six days a week.
Stay tuned for chapter three — The Grand Opening!

Happy Birthday to us!
02/07/2026

Happy Birthday to us!

Sneak peek at most of our square foot show opening tomorrow at 5pm! We will have cake, and other refreshments, and music...
02/05/2026

Sneak peek at most of our square foot show opening tomorrow at 5pm! We will have cake, and other refreshments, and music by Cindi Shaw. Hope to see you all tomorrow!

02/04/2026

Our fearless leader Ray has started writing the history of the Main Stope Gallery, here is the first installment. Hope to see you all at our 30+ year celebration on Friday!

The Main Stope Gallery: A Butte History (first in a series)
By Ray Campeau

The origin of the Main Stope Gallery began in 1994 during Ray Campeau’s evening adult watercolor class at Sallie Bowen Ulsher’s studio in Butte. The students began discussing the lack of an art gallery in Butte while much smaller communities like Anaconda and Deer Lodge had galleries. When they asked Campeau what he thought he said, “If you would like to have a gallery, each of you give me $50 tonight, and I will work to find a spot.” Campeau collected close to $500 that night and the search began.
After visiting a number of possible sites, he went to a building on South Main Street that had been acquired by a young couple who planned to open a coffee shop, The Blue Venus. They were only going to use one unit of the building and Campeau felt the adjacent area was a fine location though the unit was a disaster of a space. He made an offer. He would restore the space if they would withhold charging any rent until restoration was finished and the gallery was up and running.
The space to be restored had originally been a saddle and leather product enterprise. There was an interior connecting door between the existing coffee shop and the gallery to be – which led to a natural strong collaborative business connection between the two.
Everyone from the class helped clean out and restore the space. After four months of hard work the little gallery was opened in 1995. Campeau named the space The Main Stope Gallery. What’s the story behind the name? Butte residents will be familiar with the mining term “stope” – an excavated underground space in a mine for extracting valuable minerals or ore from a deposit. At the Gallery the treasure would be local art at 126 South Main Street, in the heart of Butte.
Look for chapter two of the The Main Stope History as the group of artists expand their patron base and garner more member artists with far-ranging national recognition.

Address

14 S Dakota Street
Butte, MT
59701

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 2pm

Telephone

(406) 723-9195

Website

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