Joe Halko (1940-2009) Joe Halko is a wildlife artist and sculptor of North American wildlife living near Cascade, Montana. After growing up on the family farm, he spent two years in the U. S. Army and studied art briefly in New York City. Returning to Great Falls, he was hired as a taxidermist in the Great Falls Sporting Goods Store, earned a degree in biology at the College of Great Falls, and then returned to taxidermy until 1976 when he became a full-time artist. He is listed in Who's Who in American Art, is a member of the Northwest Rendezvous Group and the Society of Animal Artists.