CODY, Wyoming — In the 1930s, an artist came to Cody, Wyoming.
Edward T. Grigware wasn’t a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nor did he ever join. But when approached by local Latter-day Saints in the late 1940s, he spent almost a year studying Church history, even traveling to various Church historic sites.
And with that knowledge, he painted a mural depicting Church history inside the dome of Cody’s first Latter-day Saint meetinghouse, covering the rotunda’s 36-foot diameter and 18-foot height.
Of what he later called his “masterpiece,” Grigware said: “I painted the love and respect that I hold in my heart for these indomitable people.”
Today, the rotunda is part of the Historic Cody Mural and Museum. The building includes the original Latter-day Saint chapel — in what is still a functioning ward house — and an adjoining museum.
Elder Kurt Hopkin and his wife, Sister Georgina Hopkin, are the directors of the Historic Cody Mural and Museum. They’ve served in the museum for 12 years, overseeing six missionary couples each year who give tours while the museum is open between May and September. During the remainder of the year, the Hopkins give tours by appointment.
The museum helps preserve the history and legacy of Cody, most recently added to through the October 2026 dedication of the Cody Wyoming Temple. “We’re just so grateful to have a temple of our own,” Sister Hopkin said.
Making the mural
Grigware was born in 1889 and attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, according to information from the museum. During World War II, he created poster art to support the war effort and painted pieces for the U.S. Navy. He later became well known for his Western art and murals, with his work featured in churches, museums and other buildings across the country.
Grigware moved to Cody in the late 1930s, where he became friends with Bishop Lloyd Taggart, first counselor Glenn E. Nielson and Nielson’s wife, Olive. The Nielsons are also the grandparents of the younger Glenn Nielson, who, along with his wife, Erica, donated the land that the new Cody temple now stands on.
Cody’s first Latter-day Saint branch was established in 1937. By 1948, the congregation was large enough to need a chapel of its own, and construction finished in 1949. Designed by California architect Douglas W. Burton, the building included a rotunda intended for a church bell.
However, after meeting with Elder Henry D. Moyle, then an Apostle, the senior Glenn Nielson decided that paintings depicting Church history would be a more appropriate use for the rotunda. He and Bishop Taggart then commissioned Grigware for the mural, who subsequently spent 11 months studying the Church.
Grigware wanted to paint on pure Irish linen, which he called the “choicest of artist’s canvas.” But this linen was unavailable in the area, and the Nielsons were unsure how they’d fulfill his request.
Olive Nielson prayed about the problem and shortly after accompanied her husband on a business trip to Montreal, Quebec. It was there, in a small, obscure French fabric shop, that she found the exact amount of linen needed for the mural.
Once in Cody, the linen was sized, shrunk and glued to the rounded rotunda walls. Grigware painted first in watercolors and then with oil-based paints, commenting that “a hand greater than his own” guided his brush.
The paintings include scenes spanning from 1827, when the Prophet Joseph Smith received the gold plates from the angel Moroni, through Joseph Smith’s martyrdom in 1844. There are also depictions of the pioneer exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, and settlement in the Salt Lake Valley.
Grigware also included the Church’s first eight prophets throughout the mural. “He learned how important they were in the Church and the Restoration of the gospel,” Sister Hopkin said.
Painting on a curved surface presented unique challenges. Grigware had to consider both a vertical and a horizontal curve, at one point assembling a series of black-and-white photos in a single line to help account for any distortions.
He also referenced pen-and-ink etchings he made while visiting Church history sites. “There’s supposed to be 35 of them. We’ve found seven of them so far,” Elder Hopkin said.
Grigware finished painting the mural in 1951. He died in Cody in 1960.
Lasting artwork
The museum portion of the building came over 30 years after the mural’s completion, opening in September 1982. It includes photos, artifacts and other items documenting the history of the Bighorn Basin. The building also has a family history center.
The most recent building renovations came in 2016, followed by a rededication.
But through changes across decades, the mural has remained constant. “Mr. Grigware wanted this to last 100 years,” Sister Hopkin said of the paintings.
