Dictionary of Utah Fine Artists - Tapa dura

Vern G. Swanson, PhD, studied at BYU and the University of Utah, and received his doctorate at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. He was the director of the Springville Museum of Art for thirty-two years until his retirement in 2012. His authored publications include J.W. Godward: The Eclipse of Classicism, as well as two major books on Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, six books on Russian and Soviet art, and five books on Utah painting and sculpture. He lives in Springville, UT.

Donna L. Poulton, PhD, a Montana native, lived in Germany for twelve years before returning to the West to earn her doctorate from BYU. She was the curator of Art of Utah and the American West at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts for eight years and now works privately as a fine art consultant. She has written articles for art magazines and authored a book on Reuben Kirkham: Pioneer Artist and coauthored: LeConte Stewart: Masterworks; Painters of Utah’s Canyons and Deserts, and Painters of Grand Tetons National Park. She lives in Salt Lake City, UT.

Angela Swanson Jones, MA, is a graduate of BYU and holds an M.A. from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. She is currently writing a biography and catalogue raisonné on the German painter, Heinrich Hofmann (1824–1911). She has published essays and articles with Fine Art Connoisseur and is the coauthor of Desperately Young: Artists who Died in their Twenties. After living in Europe for ten years, Angela currently resides near Dallas, TX.

Dr. Micah J. Christensen, PhD, earned his doctorate in the History of Art from University College London, where he traveled extensively to study how artists were trained in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He received his MFA from Sotheby’s Institute (London). He has lectured at the British Library and the University of Cambridge, and is currently a partner at Anthony’s Fine Art & Antiques (Salt Lake City) and a Board Member of the Springville Museum of Art. He regularly lectures, writes, and consults with public institutions and private collectors. He lives near Salt Lake City, UT.