Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art | The Church History Museum Exhibit

Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art | The Church History Museum Exhibit

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The Church History Museum in Salt Lake City has opened a new exhibition called Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art. This exhibit, running from September 26, 2024, to February 2025, showcases art created by and about Latter-day Saints over the past two centuries. The exhibition was curated by Heather Belnap, Ashlee Whitaker Evans, and Brontë Hebdon, with the support of the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts.

Instead of presenting the art in chronological order, the exhibition is divided into four themes: memory and archive, individual and church, sacred spaces, and identity. It features a wide variety of media, including traditional paintings, sculptures, digital art, textiles, and even VHS tape. A notable piece on display is Arnold Friberg’s famous painting of Samuel the Lamanite, shown alongside more modern works like an abstract piece by Angolan artist Hildebrando de Melo.

Brontë Hebdon, one of the curators, explains that pairing familiar works with unfamiliar ones helps visitors see these pieces in new ways. “The familiar can suddenly feel unfamiliar, as if you’re seeing them for the first time,” she says. Co-curator Ashlee Whitaker Evans adds that the diverse range of media ensures “there really is something for everyone.”

This exhibition is the largest attempt to showcase the full range of Latter-day Saint art, with works from all over the world. Glen Nelson, co-founder of the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts, calls the exhibit “a fascinating telling of a 200-year history of visual art and objects,” including many pieces thought to be lost or rarely seen.

The museum is free to visit and open Monday, Friday, and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. A grand opening event will be held on October 17, 2024.

Acknowledgments

This exhibition was developed with a trio of curators over a period of five years by the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts and co-produced by the Church History Museum.

We gratefully acknowledge the following:

Center for Latter-day Saint Arts:

Richard L. Bushman, chairman of the board

Stanley Hainsworth, chairman elect

Mykal Urbina, executive director

Heather Belnap, curator

Ashlee Whitaker, curator

Brontë Hebdon, curator

Glen Nelson, special projects director

Erin Eastmond, project intern

Hannah Keime, communication intern

Emily Spung, administrative assistant

Ron Schneider, finances

Cameron King, graphic design

Brett Peterson, interactives

Doug Ellis, exhibition case design and fabrication

Fusion Imaging, production of banners and printed materials

Plastic Fabricating, LLC, fabrication of acrylic displays

360 Scenery, fabrication of cases, vitrines, and pedestals

Thatcher + Co., public relations and marketing


EXHIBITION CHECKLIST

Triangle Room: Introduction

Carl Christian Anton Christensen (American, born Denmark, 1831-1912)

Crossing the Mississippi on the Ice (c. 1878)

Tempera on muslin, 77.875  x 114 inches

Brigham Young University Museum of Art, gift of the grandchildren of C.C.A. Christensen

Avard Fairbanks (American, 1897-1987)

Eternal Progress (1933)

Plaster frieze, 144 x 122.5 inches

Church History Museum

Ricardo Rendón (Mexican, born 1970)

Zona de concentración (2018, installed by the artist, 2024)

Steelwire and bronze polished lacquered plumb, dimensions variable

Collection of the artist

Memory & Archive

Duncan McFarlane (British, 1818-1865)

The Ship Brooklyn (1845)

Oil, 24 x 36 inches

Church History Museum

George Martin Ottinger (American, 1833-1917)

Burial of John Morse at Wolf Creek, July, 25, 1861 (1861)

Oil on canvas, 11 x 17 inches

Church History Museum

George Martin Ottinger (American, 1833-1917)

Chimney Rock, August 3, 1861 (1861)

Oil on canvas, 6.25 x 13 inches

Church History Museum

George Martin Ottinger (American, 1833-1917)

Mormon Immigration Train at Green River (1861)

Oil on canvas, 11 x 18.5 inches

Church History Museum

Johann Schroeder (German, unknown)

Early View of Nauvoo (1859)

Oil on metal, 10 x 13 inches

Church History Museum

Lucy Leuppe McKelvey (Native American, Diné, born 1946)

Echoes of the Ancient Ones (1988)

Ceramic, 12.75 x 11.5 x 10.75 inches

Church History Museum

Fannie Nampeyo (Native American, Hopi-Tewa, 1900-1987)

Migration Pot (1952)

Ceramic, 8.25 x 13.5 inches

Church History Museum

Sara Lynne Lindsay (American, born 1977)

Knew They Would/Knew You Would Be Here (2020)

Cotton, cedarwood, ink, Sarah Pea DeArmon Rich’s journal entries 1814-1893, 2020 approximately 7 feet in diameter x 2 inches

State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection

Gary Ernest Smith (American, born 1942)

Innocent Blood which Crieth from the Ground Against Them (1970)

Oil on canvas, 44.75 x 74.75 inches

Springville Museum of Art, Gift from John & Birdella Bearnson and Vern G. & Judy Swanson, 1997.020

José Augusto Rotellini (Dominican, born 1975)

Busto del Profeta José Smith (2014)

Resin, 15 x 10 inches

Private Collection

Marlena Wilding (American, born 1989)

All Are Alike Unto God (Portrait of Isaac Lewis Manning) (2021)

Mixed media, collage, 36 x 24 inches

Private Collection

Joni Susanto (Indonesian, born 1961)

The First Vision/Joseph Smith’s First Prayer (1990)

Textile, 28.5 x 36 inches

Church History Museum

Thomas Ward (English, 1808-1847)

Phoebe Carter Woodruff and Son Joseph (1845-46)

Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

Church History Museum

Manti Relief Society (Various)

Hair Wreath (1888)

Hair and other material, 35 x 29.25 x 6.5 inches

Church History Museum

Fourteenth Ward Relief Society (Various)

Fourteenth Ward Album Quilt, Salt Lake City, Utah (1857)

Textile, 126 x 99 inches

Church History Museum and Private Collection

Mary Ann Broomhead (American, born 1829)

Martyrdom Sampler (1844)

Textile with cotton and silk thread, human hair, 27.2 x 24.25 inches

Church History Museum

Valerie Atkisson de Moura (American, born 1971)

Hanging Family History (Matriarchally Oriented) (2002)

Ink, rice paper, copper wire, 14 x 2 x 2 feet

Church History Museum

Michelle Franzoni Thorley, (Xicanan, born 1979)

The Finding Process (2018)

Oil on panel and amate paper, 32 x 30 inches

The Baird Collection

Kazuko Covington (Japanese, born 1951)

Touching the Hearts of Many Generations (c. 2017)

Textile, 68 x 53 inches

Church History Museum

Elspeth C. Young (American, born 1984)

Brightness of Hope (Louise Fabres) (2016)

Oil on canvas, 36 x 24 inches

Private Collection

Joseph Lajabu Banda (Malawian, born 1979)

Go Where You Want Me to Go (2022)

Acrylic, paper, wood, and chitenge cloth, 28 x 27.5 inches

Church History Museum

Brian Kershisnik (American, born 1962)

She Will Find What Is Lost (2012)

Oil on canvas, 132 x 96 inches

Church History Museum

Dennis Smith (American, born 1942)

Go This Way (2020)

Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches

Collection of the artist

Georgina Bringas (Mexican, born 1975)

La vibración del tiempo (2018)

VHS tape, computer fans; dimensions variable

Collection of the artist

Jacqui Larsen (American, born 1962)

The Children Sing: Syracuse, New York (2018)

Mixed media on panel, 37 x 37 x 4 inches

Church History Museum

Annie Poon (American, born 1977)

The Split House (2016)

Stop motion animation, duration: 5 minutes

Church History Museum

Individual & Church

Sarah Ann Burbage Long (American, born England, 1817-1878)

Brigham Young and His Friends (c. 1864)

Oil on canvas, 33 x 43 inches

Church History Museum

George Edward Anderson (American, 1860-1928)

Sister Manwaring and Children at Prayer (1903)

Gelatin silver print, 15.5 x 19.5 inches

Church History Museum

Sutcliffe Maudsley (British, 1809-1881)

Lucy Mack Smith (c. 1842)

Gouache on paper, 12 x 7.5 inches

Church History Museum

Megan Knobloch Geilman (American, born 1986)

Joseph’s Book of the Dead (2017)

Digital composition

Photography by Samantha Zauscher

Courtesy of the artist

Emile Wilson (Sierra Leonean, born 1967)

Confirmation in Sierra Leone (1992)

Textile, 34.5 x 30 inches

Church History Museum

Trevor Southey  (American, born Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, 1940-2015)

The Restoration of the Priesthood/The Moment After (1980)

Bronze, 26.75 x 27.25 x 27.375 inches

Church History Museum

Lisa DeLong (American, born 1974)

Umbilicus (2018)

Ink and gold leaf with handmade print, 30 x 18 x 2 inches

Church History Museum

Nicole Woodbury Preece (American, born 1986)

Within the Marrow of Our Bones (2019)

Porcelain ceramic, 8.5 x 8.5 x 4 inches

Church History Museum

Jared Lindsay Clark (American, born 1976)

Palimpsests – Saturday (2012)

Etching on paper, 8 x 7.875 inches (image size), 15 x 11 inches (paper size)

Church History Museum

Alejandra Ramos (Mexican-Guatemalan, born 2000)

vision (2021)

Video, 3 minutes

Collection of the artist

Hildebrando de Melo (Angolan, born 1978)

Mustard (2018)

Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 40 x 36 inches

Church History Museum

Laura Lee Stay Bradshaw (American, born 1958)

Woman of Reverence (1985)

Bronze, 35 x 12 x 9.25 inches

Church History Museum

James T. Harwood (American, 1860-1940)

Come Ye After Me (1904)

Oil on canvas, 18.5  x 15.1875  inches

Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1937

Walter Rane (American, born 1949)

He Anointed the Eyes of the Blindman (1999)

Oil on canvas, 34.375 x 20 inches

Church History Museum

Joseph Paul Vorst (American, born Germany, 1897-1947)

Last Supper (1930)

Linoleum cut, 13.9  x 11.61 inches

Church History Museum

Michael Malm (American, born 1972)

Focus on Joy (2023)

Oil on canvas, 30 x 22 inches

Collection of the artist

Julie Yuen Yim (Chinese, born Hong Kong, 1958)

Partake of His Goodness (c. 2021)

Chinese ink and colors, 47.2 x 33 x 0.75  inches

Church History Museum

Rose Datoc Dall (Filipina-American, born 1968)

Anointing for the Burial (2024)

Oil on panel, 30.25  x 17 inches

Collection of the artist

Richard Burde (German, 1912-1998)

The Prodigal Son’s Return (1960)

Oil on canvas, 35 x 32.25 inches

Church History Museum

Gifty Annan-Mensah (American, born Ghana, 1949)

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands  (2022)

Acrylic, canvas, paint, ink, 22 x 26 x 0.75 inches

Collection of the artist

Jorge Cocco Santángelo (Argentine, born 1936)

Cast the Net and Ye Shall Find (2016)

Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches

Church History Museum

J. Kirk Richards (American, born 1976)

Praying Christ in Bronze (2020)

Bronze, 74 x 21 x 25 inches

Collection of the artist

Madeline Rupard (American, born 1991)

Jesus Painting Painting (2023)

Acrylic on panel, 9 x 12 x 1.875 inches

Collection of the artist

Harry Anderson (American, 1906-1996)

The Second Coming (1979)

Oil on canvas, 120 x 79 inches

Church History Museum

Word & Image (vitrine):

John Held (American, born Switzerland, 1862-1936)

“Vision of Nephi”, printed page from George Reynolds’ The Story of the Book of Mormon, 1888

Church History Library

Unknown Artist

King Benjamin’s Last Address (Mosiah 5) from Deseret Sunday School Union

Church History Museum

Arnold Friberg (American, 1913-2010)

Alma Baptizes in the Waters of Mormon, reproduction in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

Church History Library

Unknown Artist

Reproduction in Book of Mormon Stories, 2010

Church History Library

Harold T. (Dale) Kilburn (American, 1929-2012)

Brigham Young and the Beginning of the Retrenchment Association

Improvement Era, vol. 72, no. 5, May 1969

Church History Library

Ahmed Jamal Qureshi (American, born 1976)

Mazmuur Naafi: The Arabic Psalm of Nephi (2003)

Digital image, 16.5 x 16.5 inches

Church History Museum

Herman H. Haag (American, born Germany, 1871-1895)

Nephi Obtains the Plates from Laban (1894)

Oil on canvas, 47 x 36 inches

Church History Museum

Ben Howell (American, born 1979)

Transcription (2010-2016)

Video still

Courtesy of the artist

Page Turner (American, born 1981)

Blessed Big Oak Revival from Total Plenitude: A Congregation of Sister Seekers (2018)

Assemblage mixed media, about 36 inches in diameter

Collection of the artist

Church Auxiliary Magazines (vitrine):

Head of Michelangelo’s David, frontispiece for The Young Woman’s Journal, March 1901

I Now Turn the Key, cover image for The Relief Society Magazine, March 1936

Mary Johnson Kimball, The Earth is the Lord’s, Emerson Ward mural, cover image for Improvement Era , October 1957

Heinrich Hoffman, Christ, cover image of Tambuli, August 1984

Carl Bloch, Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda, cover image for Liahona, January 2003

Minerva Teichert (American, 1888-1976)

House of the World (1949-51)

Oil on masonite, 36 x 48 inches

Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1969

Arnold Friberg (American, 1913-2010)

Samuel the Lamanite on the Wall (Samuel the Lamanite Prophesies) (c. 1955)

Oil on canvas, 44 x 32 inches

Church History Museum

Aoba Taiichi (Japanese, born 1954)

Become Familiar with the Scriptures (1993)

Earthenware/fired clay, 14 x 11 x 4.5 inches

Church History Museum

Sacred Spaces

LeConte Stewart (American, 1891-1990)

Latter-day Saint Meetinghouse, Clearfield (1935)

Oil on panel, 18 x 24 inches

Church History Museum

Daniel Martinez (Uruguayan, born 1977)

Aquarelle de Hoy, Buenos Aires (2023)

Watercolor on panel, 11 x 14 inches

Collection of the artist

Daniel Everett (American, born 1980)

Sky I/Sky II (2012)

Inkjet prints, 28 x 35 inches each

Church History Museum

Ella Peacock (American, 1905-1999)

Spring City Chapel, Utah (1930)

Linocut, 13 x 9.5 inches

State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Collection

J. George Midgley (American, 1882-1979)

Homeward (1950)

Bromoil transfer print, 10.25 x 10.25 inches

Church History Museum

John Hafen (American, born Switzerland, 1856-1910)

Garden of Eden (c. 1893)

Oil on canvas, 44.5 x 116.25 inches

Church History Museum

Hagen Haltern/Jared Harlow (German, 1947-2014; American, born 1977)

Rhein Valley (2005/2024)

Digital print on aluminum, 30 x 32.7 inches

Courtesy of Jared Harlow

Dale Fletcher (American, 1929-1990)

Mother’s Garden: Irene’s Strawberry Patch (1959)

Pen and ink, 17.25 x 23.5 inches

Springville Museum of Art, Gift from Vern G. and Judy N. Swanson

Matisse Binauli (Malawian, born 1983)

Meditations on Belief (c. 2019)

Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 17 inches

Private Collection

Wulf Barsch (American, born Germany, 1943)

In the Valley of the Sun and the Moon: Snow Canyon (2000)

Oil on canvas, 71 1/2 x 54 inches

Springville Museum of Art, Gift of Vern G. and Judy N. Swanson, Springville, 2009.006

Kah Leong Poon (American, born Singapore, 1963)

Manhattan New York Temple (2005)

Archival digital fine art print, 17 x 22 inches

Church History Museum

Ann Eckford (American, 1836-1918)

Nauvoo Temple Sampler (1846-49)

Textile, 18 x 12 inches

Church History Museum

Maddison Colvin (American, born 1990)

Typologies (Utah) (2012)

Graphite on paper, 40 x 24 inches

Private collection

Judith Mehr (American, born 1951)

Promises, 1980

Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches

Church History Museum

Colby Sanford (American, born 1991)

Oh Let Me Mix Into You (2022)

Acrylic on board, 16 x 20 inches

Private Collection

David Dibble, (American, born 1977)

Sanctuary (2019)

Oil on linen panel, 36 x 30 inches

Private collection

Justin Wheatley (American, born 1980)

The House Where the Spirit Was Strong (2021)

Acrylic on panel, 22 x 22 inches

Collection of the artist

Mabel Frazer (American, 1887-1982)

The Furrow (1929)

Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Church History Museum

Dorothea Lange (American, 1895–1965)

A Winter’s Provender (Jessie Waite Hunt) and

Bottling – Women’s Work: Gunlock, Utah (1953)

Silver gelatin prints 11 x 14 inches

Museum of Contemporary Photography

Abu Hassan Conteh (Sierra Leonean, born 1964)

Becoming Self Reliant (1993)

Textile, 35 x 38 inches

Church History Museum

Mahonri Mackintosh Young (American 1877-1957)

The Shoveler (1905)

Bronze (posthumous cast), 11.75 x 11 x 6.5 inches

Church History Museum

J. Leo Fairbanks (American, 1878-1946)

Life Is the Reward of Love and Labor (c. 1920)

Oil on canvas, 24 x 48 inches

Church History Museum

Mary Teasdel (American, 1863-1937)

Mother and Child (1900)

Oil on canvas, 31 x 25 inches

State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection

Janis Mars Wunderlich (American)

Laundry Monkeys (c. 2000)

Ceramic, 18 x 8 x 6 inches

Private Collection

Identity

Eva Koleva Timothy (American, born Bulgaria, 1976)

Come Unto Me, 2012

Photograph, 37 x 49 inches

Collection of the artist

Richard Lasisi Olagunju (Nigerian, born 1969)

Male and Female Created He Them (2019)

Coral beads on board, 36 x 25.5 inches

Church History Museum

Andrew Joseph Russell (American, 1829-1902)

Mormon Family: Great Salt Lake Valley (1869)

Photograph, approximately 8 x 10 inches

Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library Special Collections

Russell Lee (American, 1903-1986)

Congregation Leaving the Latter Days Saints Church at Mendon, Utah (1940)

Photograph, 17.5 x 23 inches

Library of Congress

Jeanne Leighton Lundberg Clarke (American, 1922-2014)

Family Dessert (1980)

Oil on canvas, 48 x 54 inches

Church History Museum

Rachel Cardenas Stallings Thomander (Colombian-American, born 1989)

I Love People/Mi Mamá (2017)

Photographic print, 17 x 11 inches

Collection of the artist

Chu Chu, (Chinese, born 1987)

The Visit (before 2019)

Digital painting on paper, 16 x 20 inches

Collection of the artist

Colleen Wallace Nungari (Eastern Arrernte, born 1974)

The Coming of Christ (2008)

Acrylic on canvas, 59.125 x 36.25 inches

Church History Museum

Leta Keith (Native American, Diné, Edgewater Clan, 1923-2012)

Mesa Arizona Temple Rug (1990)

Handspun wool, 52 x 71 inches

Church History Museum

Ultra Violet (Isabelle Collin Dufresne) (American, born France, 1935-2014)

Where Wast Thou When I Laid the Foundations of the Earth? (2002)

Acrylic on Rolodux, 11 x 11 x 3 inches

Church History Museum

Artist once known

Mormon Creed (c. 1884)

Painted and gilded glass, 36 x 28 inches

Church History Museum

Daniel George (American, born 1984 )

Jello Delight, Cinnamon Jello Salad, Salad, Green Jello with Carrots (2020-2021)

Archival pigment prints, 24 x 36 inches

Collection of the artist

Lee Udall Bennion (American, born 1956)

Daily Bread (c. 1990)

Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 inches

Brigham Young University Museum of Art

José de Faria (Portuguese, born 1958)

A Plentitude do Evangelho (The Fullness of the Gospel) (2019)

Oil on canvas, 39.37 x 47.24 inches

Collection of the artist

Ron Richmond (American, born 1963)

water with jean jouvenet (The Sacrament of Water) (2013)

Oil on canvas, 48 x 66 inches

Private Collection

Michael Clane Graves (American, 1939-2017)

The Fourth Article of Faith (c. 1975)

Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 79 inches

Brigham Young University Museum of Art

Enoma Alfred Igbinigie, (Nigerian, born 1951)

Family Together Forever (2004)

Wood, 27.5 x 58 x 4 inches

Church History Museum

Rose Marie Reid (American, 1906-1908)

“The Relief Society Suit” (1954)

Lycra and sequins, about 42 x 16 x 8 inches

Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library Special Collections

Va Va’u Relief Society (Tongan, various)

Salt Lake Temple Square (c. 1936)

Barkcloth, paint 111.5 x 156 inches

Church History Museum

Cyrus E. Dallin (American, 1861-1944)

Angel Moroni (1891)

gilded plaster, 31 x 15 x 20 inches

Church History Museum

Franz Mark Johansen (American, 1928-2018)

From the Veil Series (1986)

Oil on board, 47 x 39 1/2 inches

Springville Museum of Art, Gift from David & Ingrid Nemelka, in memory of Ruth Hubold Nemelka

Paige Crosland Anderson (American, born 1989)

Think of Me, Thou Ransomed One (2019)

Oil on panel, 26 x 60 inches

Collection of the artist

Paige Crosland Anderson (American, born 1989)

Again, Glorified (2019)

Oil on panel, 36 x 80 inches

Collection of the artist

Paige Crosland Anderson (American, born 1989)

Loose the Bands Which Bind (2019)

Oil on panel, 26 x 60 inches

Collection of the artist

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