Artist sees ‘Bleu Horses’ as gift to people of Montana
“Bleu Horses,” includes 39 life-sized metal sculptures placed across a 160-acre parcel of sloping prairie adjacent to Highway 287, which runs between Three Forks and Helena. (Anna Paige/MTFP)
Artist Jim Dolan’s yard and shop on Airport Road outside of Belgrade includes an eclectic array of animal sculptures. (Anna Paige/MTFP)
“You can really hit people’s hearts with those horses,” says artist Jim Dolan said. “Everybody has a story of the first time they’ve seen them — thinking that they’re real horses. And it doesn’t disappoint them when they find out they aren’t real.” (Anna Paige/MTFP)
Horses are Jim Dolan’s favorite animal to sculpt, and he’s been doing it since the 1960s. He was not commissioned to create the herd of horses; he just wanted to. (Anna Paige/MTFP)
In September, “Bleu Horses” turned 10 years old, and Jim Dolan considers them his gift to the people of Montana. (Anna Paige/MTFP)
Every few months, Jim Dolan climbs the hill to check on his herd of “Bleu Horses.” He brushes out their tangled manes, and sometimes he’ll bring a couple of gallons of paint and “dress them up a little bit.” (Anna Paige/MTFP)
It’s hard to miss the entrance to Jim Dolan’s house. A larger-than-life steel monkey popping a wheelie on a motorcycle while holding up the peace sign welcomes you at the front.
“Clyde” has been greeting passersby on Airport Road outside of Belgrade for 40 years. Beyond the daredevil monkey is a playground of metallic creations created by Dolan. In the distance, you’ll see a crescent moon being used as a perch by Jeannette Rankin, a Montanan and the first woman elected to Congress. Bison with street-sweepers for manes stampede beside Rankin, looking so animated that you may want to pet their shapely metallic bodies. Elk and deer made from expandable steel have rusted the color of fur, and various birds appear to take flight.
Dolan’s creations are abundant in his yard and in public and private collections around the world, but his best-known work is on a hillside just outside of Three Forks.
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