Leo James Beaulaurier was born in Great Falls, Montana. He was a traditional Western painter, illustrator, and muralist. Some of his New Deal Era murals grace post office buildings in the western United States. In Langdon, North Dakota, a mural titled, "Indians Demanding Wagon Toll", was completed and installed in 1939. He studied for three years at the University of Notre Dame and then worked odd jobs until 1936 when he studied at the Los Angeles Art Center. After service in the military as an Army Air Corps pilot in World War II, he entered his family's construction business. He maintained a studio in the Power Building in downtown Great Falls where he began painting full time in 1963. Occasionally he modeled figures in clay or wax to work out the action for a painting depicting scenes or events in Western history. His specialty became portraits of famous Native Americans. He painted on black velvet, a material that quickly absorbs paint, believing it would help his works last longer. Research for his entry in the Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists by Peggy and Harold Samuels (published 1976) tells of his concern for and the urgency to document history. He states, "A hundred years from now you won't be able to look at this country as we see it now. Someday there won't be a full-blooded Indian left."