For about 56 years, Springville has been called "Art City." Take a drive down Main Street and you'll spot the Art City Motel, Art City Drive-In and Art City Pharmacy. And don't miss that Art City Body and Paint sign!
Before Art City became a reality, a foundation had to be laid.In the spring of 1903, painter John Hafen and two other prominent Springville residents took a buggy ride to Brigham Young Academy. While there, they heard a visiting lecturer talk about the refining influence of art.
Upon returning home, the three men bemoaned the fact that Springville's youth didn't have that kind of influence. Hafen then removed his painting "The Mountain Stream" from his studio wall and said, "I will give this painting to the students of Springville High School in the hope that it will become the beginning of an art collection." Other Utah artists followed suit.
High school students in Springville soon became involved in the project of collecting artwork. Every year, they paid a penny a vote in the school's Art Queen contest, and the school matched it. The money was used to purchase a new painting for the collection.
In 1921, Hafen's son Virgil persuaded the high school to sponsor a salon patterned after the one in Paris. This annual exhibit soon attracted artists from across the country. Some of their paintings were purchased for the permanent collection.
By 1935, Springville was the center for visual arts in Utah, thanks to a burgeoning art collection and many students and residents who had caught Hafen's vision. The word soon spread and Springville got its new name - Art City.
The Springville Museum of Art was built, thanks to financial help from the Works Projects Administration (WPA), the Nebo School District, Springville City and the LDS Church. Completed in 1936, it was the first art museum in Utah.
Over the years, the museum's permanent collection has continued to grow. However, since 1981, the focus has been on Utah art. In fact, over 700 pieces of the 1200 works in the permanent collection are by Utah artists.
Today, the museum is a beehive of activity, thanks to its dynamic director Vern Swanson. If you haven't seen the impact he has had on the museum, take a drive to the museum and see for yourself. You'll be amazed at the changes Swanson has spearheaded - with the support of an art-minded mayor, city council, community, museum board, donors and volunteers.
Many choice artworks from the permanent collection hang upstairs in five galleries, two hallways and one alcove. The downstairs galleries are reserved for temporary exhibitions.
- Hanging on the walls of the Step-down Gallery is a retrospective exhibit of paintings by Judy Lund (1911- ) and Florence Ware (1891-1971).
In this show, Lund displays varied subject matter - nudes, cityscapes and landscapes. The landscapes are painted both abstractly and representationally.
Although an accomplished painter, Lund also served as administrator of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) in Utah from 1934-35 and later as State Art Director of WPA. She is married to painter Theodore Wassmer.
A quick look at Ware's "Moon Flowers" and "Nature's Embroidery" gives the impression that the artist preferred a palette of cool colors. But that's not correct. Small passages of rich, warm colors emerge in "Sumac," "Nosegay," and "Low Tide." And warm colors dominate in "Cherry Tree in Autumn."
- Sculptor Gary Lee Price has transformed the South Gallery into an impressive showroom spotlighting his sculptures and paintings. The sculptures range in size from miniature clay maquettes to life-size people and wildlife.
"Ninety percent of the time, I do a miniature study," he said. "It's much easier to see the design at a distance and work out the problems."
Price has been sculpting for only 10 years, but he's wasted no time in creating a number of significant works.
In 1981, Price entered the Lido Gallery with his first two sculptures. Before he left, the gallery had purchased the rights to the edition of one of them, a sculpture of a buffalo. When he walked out of the door, he had a check for $11,000 in his pocket. Any fears Price had about not succeeding as a sculptor were quickly dispelled.
Western imagery is an integral part of his first sculptures. As time passed, however, he enlarged his repertoire. He soon found pleasure in creating wildlife. He later branched out into sculpting human figures - small ones at first, then life-size ones.
Museum director Swanson pointed out that over the years, Price has learned that sculpture is more than form. It's also surface. "He combines 19th century modeling with 20th century surface techniques." This is evident in his small bronze piece of a Doberman and his 70-inch-high bronze "Swan's Flight."
"The swans sculpture is probably my favorite piece," Price confessed. "Not only do I like the design, but I loved doing the texture. No longer am I bound to the typical claw tool . . . "
- The Lower Clyde Gallery features work by artists who have lived in Springville over the years. Of course, there's artwork by John Hafen. B.F. Larsen, who lived in Springville for about a year, is represented by his 1929 landscape "Cordes, France." And there are contemporary artists as well - Glen Turner, Lou Jene Carter, Robert Marshall, and Bruce Smith.
- Recent work by Donald MacFarlane is displayed in the Southeast Gallery. An MFA graduate from BYU, he's currently associate professor of visual arts at the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley.
The artist enjoys drawing with pencil, over which he occasionally places a watercolor wash. His show includes works in watercolor, pastel and charcoal.
- The final exhibit is located upstairs in the Works on Paper Gallery. Its walls are currently dotted with oil paintings by Karen Williams. Her animal studies and landscapes have been beautifully painted.
See GALLERIES for closing dates. The Springville Museum of Art is located at 126 E. 400 South in Art City. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday; and 2-5 p.m. Sunday.