Artwork copyright Donald Barrie. Photo courtesy of the artist, 1978.

Horse Heaven Hills, 1978

Donald Barrie
American (born 1938)

Location: Mabton High School, Mabton

About the Artwork

Horse Heaven Hills is a mural created by artist Donald Barrie. He chose this composition to celebrate the natural and agricultural landscape surrounding Mabton, in south-central Washington. He notes, "This area is changing from the sage in the foreground to the cultivated fields seen in the distance. I felt that Impressionism was the appropriate method to visualize the changes that I feel happening here and in other parts of our state. Everything is illuminated and quivers under the waves of light, the entire canvas is covered with a lively, nervous, rhythmic brushstroke which becomes more and more logical only as the spectator takes a few steps backwards."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Mabton School District.

About the Artist

Realist painter and muralist Donald Barrie captures the subtle details and formal relationships found in city scenes and sweeping landscapes. A faculty member at Seattle Central College, and founder of the Pelican Bay Artists' Cooperative. Barrie lives and works in Seattle, Washington.