Profile of an Artist: Monte Dolack

Monte Dolack’s Dancing Cranes limited edition print represents what the artist cherishes—conservation, communication, friendship between cultures. The original work, commissioned by the University of Montana’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, is in Hokkaido, Japan—one of the few places on earth where the red-crowned crane still exists. “The piece,” Dolack explained, is “about landscape and natural areas that are diminishing.” It also reflects the role the Mansfields played in promoting environmentally sound business practices throughout the northern hemisphere.

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“Mike Mansfield left a large legacy,” Dolack said about one of Montana’s most influential U.S. Senators. “He grew up in Great Falls, worked in the coal mines of Butte, attended school in Missoula and eventually taught here. He was a real friend of the environment.” As ambassador to Japan, Mansfield worked hard to establish positive relations between the countries, especially when it came to protecting endangered habitat.

Dolack noted that the rare red-crowned crane is considered sacred in Japanese mythology and now flourishes in just a few places on earth. “Oddly enough, they’re doing well in the DMZ between North and South Korea. No one intended to establish a preserve there, but that’s the way it turned out,” the artist said. The art also depicts the endangered North American whooping crane. Like all cranes, they do dance. “It’s wonderful to see,” he said.

An avid bird watcher and fly-fisher, Dolack has created a bounty of environmentally themed art since opening his first Missoula studio almost 30 years ago.

Like many Missoulans, the Great Falls native first came to town
to study at the University of Montana. Before long he had opened a “studio that was more like a salon, where people could visit and see me work.” That’s where he met his wife, Mary Beth Percival, a graphic designer, illustrator and painter noted for watercolors of her native Montana. Together they opened Monte Dolack Gallery http://www.montedolack.com 10 years ago.

“Between the two of us we generated quite a bit of work, so the gallery seemed like a natural thing to do.” As a result, the couple found themselves woven into the fabric of a community they love.
“It seems like Americans are on the move all the time, always looking for something,” Dolack reflected. “If you find a community that you become a part of, it’s something you can’t take for granted anymore. I think that sense of community keeps us here as much as the nature and the mountains. This is the kind of place that gets into your blood.”

The university’s presence adds an extra dimension to the Missoula lifestyle, according to Dolack. “The basic level of education here is very high. That makes for a very active, intellectually stimulating place to live. It’s a small town that feels a lot larger than a place that’s solely recreation based. Yet, we’re surrounded by these incredible mountains and rivers and lakes.“

Much of Dolack’s art reflects an environmental theme. “That’s where my interest really lies,” he said. He typically works in a home-studio in the mountains near Missoula. His almost magical representations of the wildlife and landscape he loves have earned him a bounty of commissions from the likes of the Nature Conservancy, Defenders of Wildlife and the Bob Marshall Foundation. His representation of a trout adorns special Montana license plates—one of the reasons the state chapter of Trout Unlimited honored him as their Communicator of the Year. The local newspaper, The Missoulan, named him one of the most influential Montanans of the 20th century. A retrospective book, The Works, chronicles 25 years of his paintings, posters, prints, sketches and photos. He recently was feted along with other contemporary western artists at a gala in Dublin, the prelude to an exhibit that will take his work throughout Ireland.

With easy air travel and technological advancements, Dolack noted that “people can live wherever they want.” Missoula is where he wants to be.

To see more of Dolack’s work, go to http://www.montedolack.com