A big man with a big beard and a quick laugh, Butts was known around the country for his large, expressive paintings. His gallery openings consistently attracted large crowds and his work is widely collected.
This exhibition is a portfolio of artworks on 29 x 41 inch paper. While there are a few larger works on paper these pieces are large enough to compare to his larger paintings on canvas.
A collection of Freeman's large figurative work on canvas can be seen at the new Danforth Art Museum in Livingston, Montana. The organization that operated the Danforth Gallery for over 40 years, The Park County Friends of the Arts, is in the process of reorganizing into an institution to preserve and celebrate Park County's artistic heritage, The Danforth Museum of Art. The Danforth, with its roots as a leader in defining and redefining the culture of art in this community, will feature a collection representing the history of art over the past six decades beginning with an entire show of work by Freeman W. Butts.
Freeman Butts escaped the L.A. art scene and moved to Bozeman, Montana in 1974 to paint landscapes and figurative works. He subsequently moved to a larger studio in Livingston in 1994 where he continued to paint figurative artworks and landscapes until his death at 70 years old in 1998.
His work has been displayed at the Los Angeles County Museum, the San Francisco Museum, the Cheny Cowles Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Holter Museum in Helena, among many others.
