Farrell Reuben Collett was born in Bennington, Idaho in 1907.  He was Utah’s most noted wildlife painter and illustrator.  He taught in the art department at Weber State College for 30 years.  He died in 2000.

Collett received his early art training at Brigham Young University and at the University of Utah.  He worked as freelance illustrator from 1933 to 1938.  He studied in at the California School of Fine Arts (1934), at the Art Institute of Chicago (1935, 1937), and at the American Academy of Art (1938). He worked as high school art instructor in Ogden in 1938.  The next year he began his teaching career at Weber State College; he retired in 1976. 

Collett was an academic realist whose work reflected national trends in realism and illustrative styles of representation.  Elk in a Winter Landscape and Winter Sortie (2000) are examples of his work.
Collett received awards for his work—the purchase prize for a portrait at the Springville Art Annual in 1954 and the Governor’s Award for Art. His work was exhibited in a one-man show at the Museum of Natural History.

Biographical information on this page was adapted from Artists of Utah.