Painters of Utah's Canyons and Deserts - Hardcover

Poulton, Donna L; Swanson, Vern

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 142360184X ISBN 13: 9781423601845

Publisher: Gibbs Smith, 2009

Synopsis

Vividly illustrated and exhaustively researched and documented, Painters of Utah's Canyons and Deserts weaves a sweeping tapestry of artists' attempts to capture the majesty, rare beauty, and raw danger of Utah's frontier West.

A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF ARTISTS WHO PAINTED SOUTHERN UTAH, INCLUDING:

Solomon Nunes Carvalho

Frederick S. Dellenbaugh

John Heber Stansfield

William Keith

Samuel Coleman

Thomas Moran

Minerva B. K. Teichert

Maynard Dixon

LeConte Stewart

J. Roman Andrus

Birger Sandzén

Everett Ruess

Georgia O'Keeffe

Max Ernst

Alfred Lambourne

Henry L. A. Culmer

Donald Beauregard

Donna L. Poulton is Associate Curator of Utah and Western Art at the University of Utah's Museum of Fine Arts. She has written articles on Utah and Western art, and is the coauthor of Utah Art, Utah Artists. She lives in Salt Lake City.

Vern G. Swanson has been the director of the Springville, Utah, Museum of Art since 1980. He has published fourteen art history books as sole or joint author, five of these on Utah art, a major tome titled Dynasty of the Holy Grail, and Soviet Impressionist Painting. He lives in Springville, Utah.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

PAINTERS OF UTAH’S CANYONS AND DESERTS

Famous movie director John Ford once emphatically exclaimed, “ . . .Monument Valleywasmy greatest star.”But long before Ford lionized these great icons, paintings of the sweeping desert and colorful canyon country of Utah’s plateau province had captured the popular imagination of American and European audiences.

contrasts between painters who called Utah home and those who explored and visited. Starting with the rich visual images of Native American petroglyphs, the book then looks at the lively anecdotes of the “artists as explorers,” including John Wesley Powell’s harrowing trip down the Colorado River, artist Solomon Nunes Carvalho’s recovery from the brink of starvation, and artist Richard Kern’s death at the hands of the Paiutes. ThomasMoran is prominent in this history with dramatic lithographs and his own exploration of the Zion region.

Love of the western landscape has to do with the capacity of the viewer to experience vast space. To appreciate the desert terrain, one has to be comfortable with an inscrutable universe. Whether existential or spiritual, these themes are evoked in the modern paintings of Maynard Dixon, Conrad Buff, Georgia O’Keeffe, andMax Ernst,who are amongmany visiting artists successfully challenged by this landscape.

Utah artist Alfred Lambourne was the first artist to paint in Zion, and Henry L. A. Culmer was the first to paint the natural bridges. Utah artists recorded the natural beauty of the parks in the 1920s and the stark influence of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Today’s modern and traditional artists mix it up, employing classical methods and conventions, often with flagrant juxtapositions, to convey political, existential, or psychological themes. V. Douglas Snow, Gary E. Smith, and Ed Mell are among a growing group of nationally known artists whose work is inspired by the Utah Red Rock.

In all, this is an informative and visually stunning compilation of Art in Utah, detailing its profound influence on western and American culture.

Donna L. Poulton is an Associate Curator of Utah and Western Art at the University of Utah’s Museum of Fine Arts. She studied at the Boston University extension in Germany and received her PhD from BrighamYoung University. She has juried and curated many exhibitions, including the Olympic Exhibition of Utah Art. Dr. Poulton has written articles on Utah and Western Art, is the co-author of Utah Art, Utah Artists, and has recently completed a manuscript on Reuben Kirkham, an early Utah pioneer artist. She has taught Utah art history at the University of Utah and has served on the boards of several arts organizations. Dr. Poulton has also filmed extensive interviews with numerous Utah artists, produced commercial videos on Utah art, and consulted with private art collectors and galleries.

Vern G. Swanson is a native of Central Point, Oregon. He graduated from Brigham Young University (BA), University of Utah (MA), and University of London (PhD) in art history. He started his career at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (1969–70), taught art and art history at Auburn University as an Assistant Professor (1972–75), and was employed atWasatch Bronzeworks in Lehi (1975–78). Since 1980, Dr. Swanson has been the director of the Springville Museum of Art, has helped the museum's art collection of Utah and Russian art grow, and has contributed toward the construction of a new wing, dedicated in 2004.

Dr. Swanson has published fourteen art history books as sole or joint author. Five of these have been on Utah art, with several in collaborationwith Drs. Robert Olpin,WilliamSeifrit, and Donna Poulton. In 2006, he published a major tome Dynasty of the Holy Grail and in 2007, his third and largest book, Soviet Impressionist Painting. He is now researching for his next two books, “John Hafen: Faithful Artist” and“The Chiasmatic Atonement.”

About the Author:

Donna Poulton is an Associate Curator of Utah and Western Art at the University of Utah's Museum of Fine Arts. She lives in Salt Lake.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gibbs Smith
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 142360184X
• ISBN 13: 9781423601845
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304