Artwork copyright Jim Colbert. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Jim Colbert. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Eagle Butte, 1990

Jim Colbert
American (born 1946, died 2007)

Location: Wenatchee Valley College, Wenatchee

About the Artwork

Artist Jim Colbert created the vibrant and realistic landscape painting Eagle Butte based on photographs of the location in Colorado. The spot gets its name for the golden eagles that nest on the sides of the steep slope. Colbert noted how the landscape records and preserves many eras of history. The stone bluffs in this area contain fossils of prehistoric animals, artifacts from Indigenous Peoples, and remnants from 1930s depression-era farms abandoned during the dust bowl.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Wenatchee Valley College.

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.