Montana Tech Students Help Recreate Historic 1876 Sculpture for Museum of the Rockies Exhibit
BOZEMAN, Mont. — A historic sculpture that nearly disappeared from the art world more than a century ago is getting a new life in Montana, thanks to a collaboration involving Montana Technological University, Montana State University and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Using advanced 3D-printing technology, Montana Tech researchers and engineering students have created a full-scale replica of The Death of Cleopatra, an 1876 marble sculpture by groundbreaking artist Edmonia Lewis.
The replica is now featured in the Chisel and Razor exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, which opened October 17, 2026, and will remain on display through September 12, 2027.
The project combines art, history and modern engineering while highlighting a little-known connection between the famous sculpture and Montana.
A Historic Sculpture With Montana Connections
The Death of Cleopatra was created in 1876 by Edmonia Lewis, one of the first Black and Native American women to achieve international recognition as a sculptor.
The original marble sculpture weighs approximately three tons and depicts Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in the moments following her death.
Lewis first exhibited the monumental work at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, where its dramatic portrayal attracted both praise and criticism.
What many Montanans may not realize is that the sculpture has a direct connection to Bozeman.
According to the project's historical background, Bozeman settler Lizzie Williams helped finance the sculpture's shipment from Rome to America.
Williams was a business partner of Lewis's brother, Samuel Lewis, who worked as a barber in Bozeman.
That connection adds a Montana chapter to the history of one of the 19th century's most significant American sculptures.
From International Recognition to a Chicago Racetrack
Despite the attention it received at the Centennial Exposition, The Death of Cleopatra eventually disappeared from the art world for more than a century.
The sculpture was housed in a Chicago saloon before eventually finding its way to a racetrack, where it served as a grave marker for a racehorse.
It was later moved to a salvage yard.
The weathered sculpture was rediscovered in the 1980s, restored and eventually acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where it remains part of the permanent collection.
Now, more than 150 years after its creation, a modern replica is allowing visitors in Montana to experience the monumental scale of Lewis's work.
Montana Tech Engineering Students Take on Unusual Challenge
Montana State University professors Dr. Melissa Ragain and Dr. Regina Gee approached the Montana Tech Advanced Manufacturing Research Group about recreating the sculpture for the Museum of the Rockies exhibition.
The professors believed a full-scale model would help museum visitors better understand the ambition and physical scale of Lewis's original artwork.
The Smithsonian provided high-definition scans of the sculpture, while Montana State University's College of Arts and Architecture supplied materials for the project.
Montana Tech researchers then began the process of turning the digital model into a physical replica.
Leading the manufacturing work was Dr. Nathan Huft, assisted by Montana Tech mechanical engineering graduates Jadon Bingham and Daniel Topp, both members of the Class of 2026.
What followed was an engineering challenge requiring hundreds of hours of design, troubleshooting and printing.
1,150 Hours of Printing and 115 Individual Pieces
The Montana Tech team initially planned to use resin printers but ultimately switched to PLA filament to complete the project.
Five different 3D printers were used:
Two Elegoo Centauri Carbon printers
Creatbot F430NX
VisionMiner IDEX22
Creality Ender V3 Plus
The project required an estimated 1,150 hours of printing time, equivalent to nearly 48 full days.
The sculpture was produced in 115 individual pieces, which were then assembled over approximately 30 hours.
Huft said one of the greatest challenges was keeping the equipment operating throughout the lengthy process.
"For me, the most challenging part was keeping the printers running — I spent a lot of time troubleshooting," Huft said. "The rewarding part was seeing it all take shape as we were assembling it. I couldn't really tell what parts went where as I printed them."
Graduates Continued Working After Leaving Montana Tech
Bingham and Topp played important roles in designing how the massive sculpture would be divided into printable sections.
Rather than simply cutting the digital model into a uniform grid, the students strategically selected where the pieces would be separated to make printing and assembly more manageable.
"They did an excellent job with how they sectioned the full statue into parts," Huft said. "They didn't just blindly grid it off; they chose specific spots to make the cuts."
Bingham estimates he spent between 200 and 300 hours working on the project's computer-aided design.
He credited the Smithsonian for providing the high-definition lidar model and Montana State University's School of Art for painting and finishing the replica.
"It was a pretty unorthodox project, but I'm glad it turned out as well as it did," Bingham said.
"It's not super conventional, or something you'd think of as engineering project, but it's cool to have something I worked on that ended up in a museum. I don't think most engineers can say that they've worked on anything that's in a museum."
Both Bingham and Topp continued working on the project after graduating in May 2026.
Topp made several trips back to Butte to assist with printing and returned for a weekend to help assemble the finished sculpture.
"It required a bit of adaptability when we changed the material and the printing method, but we made it through," Topp said.
"I feel that is just a representation of Montana Tech students and our commitment to the school that put us on the path to success."
Historic Art Meets Modern Montana Engineering
The completed replica represents a collaboration between multiple institutions, combining the Smithsonian's historical preservation resources, Montana State University's art expertise and Montana Tech's advanced manufacturing capabilities.
The project also demonstrates how modern engineering technology can make historically significant works of art more accessible to museum visitors without relocating the original sculptures.
For the Montana Tech graduates involved, the opportunity provided an unusual application of their engineering education and a chance to contribute to a public museum exhibition.
See the Sculpture at the Museum of the Rockies
The full-scale 3D-printed replica of The Death of Cleopatra is featured in the Chisel and Razor exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition: Chisel and Razor
Featured Work: The Death of Cleopatra — Full-Scale 3D-Printed Replica
Location: Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana
Exhibition Dates: October 17, 2026 – September 12, 2027
Participating Institutions: Montana Technological University, Montana State University College of Arts and Architecture, and Smithsonian American Art Museum
For exhibition information, visit:
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