Bakke book a sampling of art, Montana history

From the time he was old enough to hold a pencil, James Bakke was an artist.

Since then, Bakke, a Montana native who just celebrated his 80th birthday, has produced hundreds of paintings, drawings and photographs documenting the rich history and natural beauty of the Treasure State.

Shortly after moving back to Montana in 2005, author Donna Hopkins — a longtime friend of Bakke — decided to take on the project of compiling Bakke’s artwork and telling his personal story.

“I decided this is too important, his work is too wonderful and people need to know about it,” Hopkins said.

She wasted no time getting started on the book, which presents a chronological story of Bakke’s life in a scrapbook-like format that incorporates photos, paintings, letters and traditional narrative.

The book is titled “James R. Bakke: Montana Artist,” with the subhead “From the Prairie to Whitefish to Glacier National Park.”

“It was nine months of hard labor and delivery, but my baby is finally here and she looks good,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins first met Bakke through her grandmother, who was friends with Bakke’s mother.

“I knew he was an artist, but I didn’t have any idea about how much talent he really had,” Hopkins said.

Bakke spent his childhood living and working on the family farm in the tiny town of Gildford, Mont., which is located about 30 miles west of Havre. He was born in 1931, the youngest of nine children.

His father homesteaded the 1,000-acre parcel of land he grew up on in 1910. The family worked the land for about 40 years, growing wheat and raising cattle.

“It was hard eking out a living on the prairie,” Hopkins said.

Bakke was always more interested in art than farm work, and he began expressing his creative talents at an early age.

His first works were done primarily in crayon — or, as Hopkins put it, “Crayola — because Crayola crayons were the best you could buy.”

As a teenager, Bakke moved to Whitefish to finish high school. After graduation, he began working for the Great Northern Railroad.

As soon as he received a paycheck, he purchased painting materials and began taking a correspondence course on oil painting.

He was also able to buy a camera, which he “always kept with him when he was working — on his lunch break, of course,” Hopkins joked.

Over the years, he snapped thousands of photographs, a handful of which he turned into paintings or drawings.

While working on the railroad, Bakke met Ethel Carlon, a fellow Great Northern employee who spent her summers hiking the trails of Glacier National Park. It was Carlon who introduced Bakke to the Park’s backcountry trails.

“When he discovered the backcountry of Glacier, his life changed forever,” Hopkins said.

With Vincent Van Gogh as a continual source of inspiration, Bakke produced hundreds of paintings that exude the same whimsical style as his Dutch idol.

“The skies are just something incredible,” Hopkins said of his landscape work.

In addition to his landscapes, Bakke produced an extensive portfolio of portraits, many of which were commissioned by friends and acquaintances.

He even used a magazine photo to draw a portrait of Queen Elizabeth. He mailed the completed portrait to the Queen, but weeks later, the drawing was returned to him along with a note from Buckingham Palace that read, “The Queen fully appreciates the kind thought which prompted Bakke’s offer, but as gifts can only be accepted from those with whom her Majesty is personally acquainted, the Private Secretary regrets that he must return the picture.”

Even that didn’t cure Bakke of his obsession with the Royal Family, Hopkins said.

In fact, Bakke made a solo trip to England in 1981 when Prince Charles married Princess Diana.

“He just wanted to be there,” Hopkins said. “He loved the Royal Family.”

Bakke’s fascination with the British royals is just one example of the many personality quirks that make him such a unique and interesting character.

“He’s a little bit reclusive, a little bit eccentric,” Hopkins said. “He’s got this little droll sense of humor.”

Although he developed a relatively large following in the Flathead Valley during the 1960s and 1970s, his art sales began to dwindle in the 1980s when he started experiencing various health problems.

“He never really became part of the normal art world,” Hopkins said. “He didn’t have a manager or an agent. He just wanted to paint for himself.”

These days, Bakke draws occasionally, but is no longer able to paint.

Still, he and his extensive portfolio of work are incredible sources of state history, Hopkins said.

“When he’s alert and feeling good, you can get him reflecting and talking,” she said.

Hopkins hopes her book will help a new generation of Flathead Valley residents discover Bakke’s artwork and the history it portrays.

“It really does reflect a lot of Montana history, and he has a good memory for those kinds of details,” she said.

Her book may be complete, but Hopkins continues to uncover pieces she didn’t know existed.

She has even entertained the possibility of putting together a second volume.

“The diversity of his work continues to amaze me,” she said. “There is a lot out there that I don’t even know about. I found things that he (Bakke) had completely forgotten about, and there is still more to be discovered.”

Hopkins will be selling and signing copies of her book at various locations throughout the Flathead Valley in the next few weeks. She will be at the Bigfork Museum of Art and History from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 24 for this month’s Last Friday event.

She will also be in Whitefish at the Grouse Mountain Lodge from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on June 23, and she will be in Kalispell at the Hockaday Museum of Art from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 7 in conjunction with their annual wine tasting event.

For more information on Hopkins’ book, visit www.jamesbakke.com or contact Hopkins by phone at 862-3518 or by email at donnahop@aol.com.