A devoted fly fisherman and traditional bow hunter, Ed Totten returned to his native Montana after receiving his BFA from Indiana University. He maintains a studio in Ennis, painting, carving and sculpting Bronze. While his fish art is extremely well known, thanks to his affiliations with Trout Unlimited and The Bradford Exchange, Ed’s technique combining a woodcarving with an original painting in a single piece has gained him worldwide recognition.

Totten’s efforts have been rewarded by the art and sporting community alike. In past years, he has won numerous awards for his creations. He has been named artist of the year by both Utah Ducks Unlimited and National Trout Unlimited, which has featured Ed’s limited edition prints in it’s banquet program since 1993. The National Wildlife Federation has commissioned paintings of the endangered Snake River Sockeye Salmon and the Threatened Montana Grayling. Not surprisingly, he won the only trout stamp competition he ever entered and his Federal Duck Stamp painting was included in a traveling expedition.

For Totten, however, one of his proudest achievements was designing the International Wild Waterfowl Association’s annual award for the preservation of rare and endangered waterfowl.

Admirers of Totten’s art are not limited to members of outdoor organizations. He recently completed eight gamefish paintings – from trout to bluegills – for The Bradford Exchange for a series of limited edition collectors plates.

Ed Totten sees his art as more than presenting an accurate picture of a fish or an elk. He wants to introduce others to the unspoiled natural world he has discovered in his years of angling, hunting, and hiking. He recently had the opportunity to put his abilities and knowledge of the Madison Valley into a permanent masterpiece of relief sculpture. He was commissioned to carve the history of the valley from pre-history to present on a 25 foot long pine log that now hangs in the Papoose Lodge south of Ennis, Montana.