Bakke's gift to Queen accepted

When Whitefish artist James Bakke received a letter from the Queen of England earlier this month he couldn’t have been happier.

“James was so thrilled,” said friend Donna Hopkins. “He said, ‘The Queen has found pleasure in my painting.’”

Bakke took a second chance at honoring the Queen for her Diamond Jubilee celebrating her 60-year reign in Britain. In June he mailed the Queen a copy of Hopkins’ book about his work, which includes a section about his paintings of the Queen.

It was some 60 years after he originally sent her a portrait he painted of her in honor of her coronation. The portrait was returned then with a note saying the Queen could not accept gifts from those she did not personally know.

Last month Bakke got a letter from Buckingham Palace accepting the book. The Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting wrote the letter and thanked him for the “splendid book.”

“The Queen was very touched by your kind thought in sending her this gift which has given her much pleasure,” the letter states.

Hopkins’ book, “James R. Bakke - Montana Artist, from the Prairie to Whitefish to Glacier National Park” chronicles Bakke’s years of work. He primarily painted still life and landscapes.

Bakke has had a lifelong fascination with the royal family and twice visited London.

The book on Bakke’s work will be for sale during Huckelberry Days at Depot Park this weekend. Bakke will be there to sign books from 2:30-4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.