Artwork copyright Jim Colbert. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Vertical Lake, 1988

Jim Colbert
American (born 1946, died 2007)

Location: Kiona-Benton Middle School, Benton City

About the Artwork

Vertical Lake is a landscape painting by artist Jim Colbert. This piece shows the rippling play of light on the surface of water at a reservoir in Georgetown, Colorado. He notes that many of his landscapes are composed horizontally, with the view of a wide sweep of space along the horizon. In this piece, he wanted to play with a vertical format; he sees the composition as a “doorway” more than a “window” into nature.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Kiona-Benton City School District.

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.