Loch Vale

Lyman Byxbe

Midwestern artist Lyman Byxbe had been summering in Estes Park, Colorado for several years by the time he etched “Loch Vale” in the mid 20th century. A primarily self-taught artist, Byxbe took to etching in the 1920s and soon founded a studio from which he sold his images of the Western outback.

In “Loch Vale” he captures the majesty of a snow-melt lake in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, the sense of depth and atmosphere drawing the viewer into the scene. In the foreground, the bending trunks of ancient ponderosa pines provide a shady hideaway for the visiting adventurer.