Church History Museum Opens New Exhibition Honoring 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art

An exhibition showcasing a variety of works spanning the last two centuries is now open at the Church History Museum of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in downtown Salt Lake City.

This exhibition is titled “Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art” and shows art created by, for, and about members of the Church of Jesus Christ from 1830 to the present. To date, this is the most comprehensive exhibit of Latter-day Saint art.

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“We’re looking thematically at what it means to be a Latter-day Saint,” explained Laura Paulsen Howe, team lead from the Church History Museum.

Rather than telling a story chronologically, the exhibition is divided into themes.

“The exhibition highlights four different themes that examine what it means to be a member of the Church,” said Howe. “First, viewers will examine ‘Memory and Archive’ and think about why and how we catalog the history of the Church. Second, viewers will visit ‘Individual and the Church’ and see that while the Savior is the head of our church organization, we also have an opportunity to have a very personal relationship with Him. Third, viewers will encounter ‘Sacred Spaces’ and ponder places we can feel the divine — in temples, at home, in places we sanctify through work and relationships. And finally, viewers will examine ‘Identity’ and think [about] what it looks like globally and through time to be a Latter-day Saint.”  

This has all been organized by the Church History Museum and the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts, whose donors helped make the exhibition possible. Art curators such as Heather Belnap have carefully collected and selected pieces over the last five years.

“We have the expected paintings, sculpture and prints, but we also have installations,” said Belnap. “We have video art, a lot of textiles, which have been incredibly important to our tradition, and illustrations.”

Ashlee Whitaker Evans, another curator of the exhibition, is excited by the range of mediums and representation. “One of the most exciting things is that we truly are able to feature artists from around the world,” said Evans. “We also see depictions that take on a flavor of the culture and the place of the artist,” she said, pointing out the painting “Partake of His Goodness” by Julie Yuen Yim.

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“Even the style of brushwork is very traditional to [Yim’s] culture,” Evans said. “It’s this wonderful melding of these scenes where Christ heals and bringing [that] into every time, every place, every location.”

Unique works of art from all over the world can be seen, such as a tapa cloth from Tonga and Aboriginal depictions of Book of Mormon events.

There are also pieces that may be more familiar to members of the Church of Jesus Christ, such as Harry Anderson’s large painting, “The Second Coming.”

“Harry Anderson was not a member of our Church, but [he] was a Seventh Day Adventist, a remarkable artist,” Evans said. “And he painted this in the 1970s, and it’s been used by the Church in meetinghouses and of course in much of our curriculum. So, it’s very familiar, but we often don’t get to see the entire thing.”

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Some pieces are being displayed for the first time in their entirety after many years. A sculptural frieze by Avard Fairbanks created for the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago has been restored and fully assembled for the first time since then. “The fact that this is coming together for the first time in almost a hundred years is really thrilling,” said Belnap.

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Two halves of a famous 1857 quilt, which was sold at auction and later cut down the middle, have now been reunited and are on display. Each square of the quilt was made by women of the Salt Lake City 14th Ward (congregation) and tells their story. Visitors will see many names familiar to Church history on the quilt and can learn more about each square through an interactive screen.

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Each section of the exhibit is unique and hearkens to a rich history, culture and experience.

“We also hope that it expands people’s understanding of the power of art to draw closer to God, to become more committed disciples of Christ,” Belnap said. “Also, to just see the diverse, rich and profound heritage that we have as a people.”

“Our hope is that this exhibit will be a springboard for so many dialogues about what Latter-day Saint art is, what it has been, what it will be and to really get people excited about [Latter-day Saint] visual arts and dig in deeper and celebrate it even more,” Evans said. “Everyone that comes will be edified, both, I think, spiritually as well as artistically.”

“I hope people will come and see familiar pieces they’re excited to see and new things that will delight and surprise them and realize what a varied experience it is being a Latter-day Saint,” said Howe.

“Work and Wonder: 200 Years of Latter-day Saint Art” is open to the public from September 26, 2024, to March 1, 2025. A grand opening will be held on October 17, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. MDT and is open to the public. The museum and museum store are open Monday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free.

The Church History Museum is on the west side of Salt Lake City’s historic Temple Square. The museum houses important artifacts of the founding, pioneers and contemporary leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as a collection of works by many artists from 1830 to the present.