Third Floor Artwork – A. Ray Olpin Student Union

Artwork Name: George M. Ottinger

Artist: Lee Greene Ottinger

Year: 2010

Medium: Oil on Linen Board

Artist Information: Kathryn has developed a keen eye for the landscape and nature. She wandered the Utah countryside on her horse until her early twenties.
She studied with artists in the Salt Lake City area on a continuous basis for approximately 20 years and continues to study books on color and landscape painting including Plein Air California Painters, Taos painters, Carlson’s Guide to Landscape painting and the Russian masters, favoring Vasily Polenov.

Artwork Name: Fields of Hurricane

Artist: Lee Greene Richards

Year: 1928

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Artist Information: Lee Greene Richards, a notable American artist, was known for his portraits. He painted both formal commissions and more informal portraits of family and close friends. His ability to capture the essence of his sitters earned him recognition in the art world. Interestingly, Richards lived near another prominent Utah artist, George M. Ottinger. The young Richards often visited Ottinger’s studio, along with friends A. B. Wright and Mahonri Young. Ottinger himself was a multifaceted figure, serving as a public official, educator, actor, photographer, and artist primarily based in Utah3. It’s fascinating how these artists’ lives intersected and influenced each other!

Artwork Name: Wake O’ Spring

Artist: Frank W. Kent

Year: 1925

Medium: Unknown

Artist Information: Frank W. Kent spent his early life between his birthplace in Salt Lake City, UT and in Idaho. Riding and working mostly during the summers on the west side of the Teton Mountains, he became well acquainted with the ways of the Shoshone and Blackfoot Indians before he was 18 years old. Later, this experience aided in paying the bills while he was illustrating for Wild West magazine in New York. His summers often found him back in the West where his sketchbooks with the subjects he knew so well were later used for his paintings.

Artwork Name: Old Mill

Artist: Mabel Frazer

Year: 1933

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Artist Information: A very historical depiction of the Deseret News paper mill still extant at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The scene may have reminded Frazer of the numerous ruins that she painted while in Europe. Mabel Pearl Frazer (1887–1981) was a remarkable artist whose work was deeply rooted in the Utah landscape. Born in West Jordan, Utah, she later studied art at the University of Utah and the prestigious Art Students League in New York. Frazer’s fascination with the Western landscape is evident in her paintings, drawings, and sketches. She captured the intense beauty of the Southern Utah desert, using bold colors and expressive brush strokes to convey the moving shadows and lights.

Artwork Name: Delicate Sun

Artist: Ryan Smith

Year: Unknown

Medium: Photo on Glass

Artist Information: Ryan Smith developed early on in his life a love and passion for the outdoors, which fueled an obsession for landscape photography. Growing up in the beautifully diverse state of Utah Ryan has consistently traveled through the west and beyond capturing iconic views, which spark emotion and tell a story. Ryan’s artistic style is unique and unmistakable which has led to prestigious awards and work featured within publications. His work is also found within various high end galleries throughout the west including Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Park City, Utah; Telluride, Colorado; Aspen, Colorado & Sedona, Arizona.

For private workshops contact Ryan directly at 801-360-3546. Ryan Smith generously donated half of the costs associated with these photos to the University of Utah A. Ray Olpin Union to help make this art display possible.

Artwork Name: Derelict Boat

Artist: H. Francis Sellers

Year: Unknown

Medium: Watercolor

Artist Information:Born in Rock Springs, Wyoming, this painter is one of Utah’s most interesting personalities. Originally an art student at Brigham Young University, he sometimes spends approximately half of each year away from his residence in Salt Lake City, supported in his work as itinerant landscapist by a “grubstake” composed of the purchased “shares” of hopeful patrons, each to receive a piece of the pictorial return on his or her individual investment upon the occasion of a festive annual drawing for Seller’s paintings. And, as the painter of remarkably rich views of landscape and cityscape that take full advantage of the water medium’s potential on quality stock, Sellers has also become one of Utah’s most successful artists “out of schools” in regard to demand for his work. The Sellers approach to watercolor is very explicit regarding implied detail in the apprehension of shape and texture. – Summary Adopted from the Springville Museum of Art.