02/20/2025
WHO WAS THE FAMOUS WILDLIFE ARTIST FROM ATLANTA, MICHIGAN?
His name was James Edward Foote, known simply as Jim. At 17, he joined the Navy Air Force to serve during World War ll. Following the war, he graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in Forestry and a master's in Wildlife Management. He was a DNR Wildlife Biologist for 27 years, working out of the Atlanta Field Office and the Pt. Mouilee State Game
Area.
Jim came to Atlanta about 1950, primarily as a self-taught artist, and began painting the wildlife scenes that surrounded him and selling them out of his small studio on the corner of Pettinger Rd and M-33.
Jim became interested in professional decoy carving after he was transferred to Pt. Mouilee, where he began his carving career. He pioneered the development of a new style of feather texturing, in which he excelled, and the demand for his work began to grow. Jim was an accomplished wildlife artist and a World Champion Carver. He won "Best of Show" in many competitions during the 70s, and some of his carvings are in museums throughout the United States.
In 1978, Jim returned to his love of painting and published his first print, a pair of Canvasback Ducks, which sold out almost immediately, and he was on his way to national fame and recognition, ultimately selling his works in 160 galleries nation-
wide.
In the early days, Jim had a cabin on the Thunder Bay River backwater behind the Courthouse, but in later years, he and his wife Joanne bought the Mowery house near the dam, where they would spend their summers from April through October. Over the years, Jim and Joanne developed some deep and lasting relationships with many of the locals, and their loving and generous nature was evident by the impact they had on everyone who knew them.
Their winter home was on Marco Island in Flordia, where Jim would spend his time fishing and painting the native wildlife. His paintings were displayed and sold in several galleries in that area as well.
Jim had paintings selected for state and national Ducks Unlimited Prints, which were sold to raise funds for their conversation programs. He also made very generous donations to other conversation groups, such as Whitetails Unlimited, and he helped to raise over $4 million for the Ruffed Grouse Society, which honored him by naming the Lewiston Michigan Chapter after him.
More recently, in 2024, Jim was nominated and inducted into the Michigan Outdoor Hall of Fame.
I met Jim in the 80s, and in 1985, I began representing him here at the North Woods Gallery. When Jim passed away in 2004, I transitioned into the Jim Foote Memorial Gallery and continued his representation until it was sold in 2022.
It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to have been so closely involved with such a fine and humble gentleman and to have had the pleasure of surrounding myself with his amazing creative works of art for the past 40 years.
More information at: www.zollarsfineart.com & www.jimfootewildlifeart.com
