A new exhibit of the work of famed Colorado photographer John Fielder highlights the beauty of the state鈥檚 rural Eastern Plains. , titled 鈥淗orizon: On the Plains with John Fielder鈥� is located at History Colorado on the second-floor mezzanine. The exhibition is saturated with the blues, golds and purples of Eastern Colorado.
The exhibit features images of the buttes, pronghorns, sandy creeks, dramatic storm clouds and abandoned homesteads at the heart of the grasslands鈥� seductive allure.
鈥淭here's a sense on the plains that you're somewhere suspended in time,鈥� said History Colorado exhibit developer and historian Gwen Lockman. 鈥淵ou're not in the busy humdrum of the city. There's a quietness and a vastness that makes you feel small and very aware of what's going on around you. These (photographs) capture that.鈥�
John Fielder spent capturing Colorado鈥檚 natural landscapes on film, creating iconic images of the state鈥檚 remote backcountry areas. Before in 2023, he more than 6,000 photographs from his collection of hundreds of thousands to the people of Colorado, making them publicly available through a collection held at History Colorado in Downtown Denver.
He is widely associated with images of and of . But his prairie landscapes should not be overlooked: they are uniquely breathtaking.
鈥淔ielder is not well known for his plains photography,鈥� Lockman said. 鈥淚t's very different to look at the silhouette of mountains in a photograph than it is to look out on the horizon. And that's something really unique and special about the plains, is how far you can see.鈥�
鈥淗e prided himself on being able to traverse every square mile of Colorado, them, and making sure that he had photographs representing all of Colorado's different diverse ecosystems,鈥� said History Colorado communications manager Luke Perkins, who worked with Fielder when he donated the collection. 鈥淗e had a lot of really great stories about escaping avalanches. But he definitely talked about traveling around to the ranches and open spaces out on the Eastern Plains.鈥�
Lockman selected the photographs in the exhibit from more than 300 images of the plains in the donated collection.
鈥淚 want people to see that the plains are exquisite,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey're not flat, they're not barren. They're delicate, but they are stunning.鈥�
鈥淗orizon: on the Plains with John Fielder鈥� is now open at History Colorado in Denver and will remain on display until January 2026.
