James Castle Art Collection, Boise Art Museum
Boise, Ada County

Location: Boise Art Museum, 670 S. Julia Davis Drive, Boise, Idaho 83702

James Castle is Idaho’s primary grass-roots artist. His work has been shown in 11 states, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Born deaf in rural Garden Valley, Castle never learned to speak, read, write or use sign language. He developed a highly sophisticated means of communication through drawing. During his lifetime (1900-1977) he created hundreds of drawings, books and objects. The Boise Art Museum began showing and collecting Castle’s work during the 1960s. In 1996 the museum received a major donation of nine works from the Castle family. These include a series of abstract dream houses as well as early drawings of Garden Valley scenes. The Trust contributed to the repair and conservation framing of this remarkable collection.