Latter-day Saint artist John Hafen was on the cusp of finding a national audience in 1910.
He had been blessed with talent and desire — but Utah was still something of a backwater stop in the turn-of-the-century American art community. National acceptance, he understood, could only be realized somewhere far from his beloved Springville, Utah, home.
So he relocated his family and studio to Indiana, where he began plying his trade as part of the renowned Brown County Art Community. He died from pneumonia a few months later in 1910. His national acclaim would be limited and, sadly, awarded posthumously.
Indeed, recognition has come gradually to many of the faith's most gifted artists.
While Mormon painters like Minerva Teichert, Mabel Frazier and Irene Fletcher can be found in many of today's surveys of important American women artists, their acceptance generally came after each had passed away. Later, a handful of devout members, like sculptor Avard Fairbanks, found LDS and non-LDS fans while still in their creative prime.
Today there is an evergrowing cadre of contemporary LDS painters, sculptors and other visual artists who are enjoying acceptance and acclaim from a secular art audience. Offering an exhaustive list of talented LDS artists would be impossible — but here are a few brief profiles of faithful members carving a place in the world's diverse and dynamic art world:
Lee Udall Bennion says it's impossible to separate her art from her faith.
Her paintings — which have earned awards and a loyal following of collectors — are an extension of herself, "and I am who I am because of my faith and belief," she said.
A fifth-generation Mormon, Sister Bennion was born in California but has called Utah home since enrolling in Brigham Young University's fine arts program in 1970s. Her professors warned that full-time art careers rarely pay the bills. Sister Bennion persisted.
After marrying noted LDS potter Joseph Bennion, the artistic couple moved to rural Spring City in Sanpete County, Utah, and had three daughters. For several years the Bennions supplemented their fledgling art incomes with outside jobs. It was a time when Sister Bennion honed her talent, hooking the art world's attention.
"Lee Udall Bennion has got to be the most important female artist in [Utah]," praised Vern Swanson, art historian and director of the Springville Museum of Art.
The Bennions have found Spring City an ideal spot to develop their talents, raise children and practice their faith in the shadow of the Manti Utah Temple.
Recently, Sister Bennion was asked to do some refurbishing on some of Minerva Teichert's murals in the Manti temple. While working in the Lord's house, she made a special connection with Sister Teichert, her painting hero.
"I definitely felt Sister Teichert's spirit."
Despite earning his living with brush and paint, Valoy Eaton considers himself more "appreciator" than "artist".
Simply feeling and observing sunlight "is one of the greatest gifts from the Lord," said Brother Eaton, a renowned landscape artist from Vernal, Utah.
Brother Eaton grew-up sensitive to nature — sketching the world outside his boyhood home came naturally.
It was basketball, not brushes, that earned him a scholarship to Brigham Young University. He played hoops for the Cougars in the late 1950s under Coach Stan Watts. But time off the court was spent developing his painting talent. After finishing school, Brother Eaton taught high school art in Salt Lake County while coaching several sports.
Despite his heavy teaching load, he never stopped painting — sometimes working all night in his studio. When his painting began earning more money than teaching, his avocation became a full-time job. Soon his works were being sold throughout the country.
A humble man, Brother Eaton believes the Spirit has been preparing him over the past several decades to capture landscapes worthy to hang in the house of the Lord. His paintings can be found in several temples throughout the country — and more will soon hang in the holy halls of the Boston, Palmyra, Albuquerque, Reno and other temples.
Before he begins any painting destined for a temple, Brother Eaton and his wife, Elinore, travel to the respective temple district to identify landscapes and impression that make each area unique.
"I really believe most everything I have done has led up to this work," he said of the paintings for temples.
Artists sometimes flush out negatives in their subjects. Not Jim Wilcox. The Wyoming landscape artist said his faith focuses him on the positives.
"I get pretty charged up by God's creations," Brother Wilcox admits.
A native of Utah, he moved to Colorado as a boy. He and his family have called Wyoming home for 30 years.
His testimony, he says, lends a special perspective to his artwork.
He said that his faith "gives me confidence to be able to accomplish what I set out to do. It causes me to be positive in my approach to my work."
Besides painting full-time, Brother Wilcox operates an art gallery with his wife, Narda, in Jackson, Wyo.
His artwork has allowed him to serve in Church callings in bishoprics and stake presidencies. He's flattered when admirers say they can sense the Spirit in his work.
Years ago, Brother Wilcox remembers a General Authority admonishing LDS artists to be the best in their fields. Devout LDS artists, the leader said, are blessed with a perspective their counterparts are missing.
"Our faith requires that we strive for that," Brother Wilcox said. — Jason Swensen
When Joel H. K. Nakila began school at BYU-Hawaii in the early 1970s, he originally majored in painting. He took a sculpting course only for fun. However, "once my hands got into it, I fell in love with clay," he recalled.
For more than 25 years now, Brother Nakila, second counselor in the bishopric of the Kona 1st Ward, Kona Hawaii Stake, has stayed with clay and used that medium to share the message of the Hawaiian culture. "The islands and the spiritual side of the culture is a part of me, and it ties with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I grew up learning from my parents and grandparents about love, humility, patience; all those things are part of the culture, and as I grew up and understood the gospel I realized they are the same. Aloha and the spirit of respect, they tie in with humility, the reverence of the land, the sea and the sky.
"Whenever I do any art, it's spiritual," he added. "I lose track of time when I become involved in a piece."
Brother Nakila's art has, indeed, attracted attention from the art community. In 1990, the Hyatt Regency Kauai commissioned him to sculpt "The Knowledgable Man of the Sea." The more-than 6-foot-tall bronze figure was one of few garden features at the hotel on the island of Kauai to survive Hurricane Iniki in 1992. In 1997, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the Department of Education commissioned him for a bronze sculpture that stands today on the grounds of Baldwin High School in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii. The figure, "Ku Kila Kila," features two children standing on the shoulders of a "kupuna," a respected elder, representing young people learning from the past. — Julie A. Dockstader
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