Artwork copyright Jim Colbert. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Low Horizon, 1990

Jim Colbert
American (born 1946, died 2007)

Location: Prairie High School, Vancouver

About the Artwork

Low Horizon is a multi-panel painting by artist Jim Colbert. It is part of a series of realistic landscapes that incorporate different images into one composition. Colbert describes this decision as an effort to break away from the tradition in which "the viewer is assumed to be looking through the window bounded by the painting's frame at real scenes." He instead composed a dynamic scene that expands the viewer's experience of space and time by combining imagery of Grand Mesa and Boulder, Colorado, depicted at different times of day.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Battle Ground Public Schools.

About the Artist

Realist painter Jim Colbert (1946-2007) intricately and expressively captured the landscape of the American West and explored the connection between man and nature. A native of Washington State, Colbert earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washingon in Seattle. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1980, and was a longtime resident of Boulder.