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