Jim Eppler (Texas / California, b. 1950), "Raven VI D", artist-cast bronze sculpture, with incised signature and edition number 18/50, freestanding

height 12 in x width 22.5 x depth 24 in

Provenance: Property from a home in Montgomery, Texas

Jim Eppler is a Texas-trained artist known for lifelike wildlife paintings and bronzes that reflect a deep respect for nature and a keen observational approach. After developing his interest in animals through childhood sketching and painting in El Paso, he took his first formal art class in high school after moving to Lubbock and earned a BFA in Studio Art from Texas Tech University. Largely self-directed beyond his academic training, Eppler has relied extensively on field observation and photography to study nature, using light in his paintings to emphasize movement and selected elements of the landscape and subtle details of motion in his bronze sculpture. His work extends beyond wildlife to portraiture, including commissioned portraits for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and projects for MCA Records, Mercury Records, Chappell Music, and the National Wild Turkey Federation. Eppler has been featured in Wildlife Art: 60 Contemporary Masters and Their Work and numerous magazines, and his public installations include the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Frederik Meijer Gardens, the National Ranching Heritage Museum, the Booth Museum, the West Texas Museum Collection, and Benson Sculpture Garden.