Francis R. Magleby
From College of Fine Arts and Communications
Contents |
Overview
Francis R. (Frank) Magleby is an oil and opaque-watercolor painter and art educator. His credits include several paintings and exhibits, teaching at Brigham Young University for 33 years, and painting murals in LDS temples worldwide.
Early Life
Magleby was born in 1928 in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
From his youth, Magleby had an interest in art, and his uncle William Dean Fausett, supported his interest and had a lasting impact on his painting style (Utah Artists Project).
Education
Magleby received his BS in 1950 and his MS in 1952 from BYU. In 1969, Magleby received his doctorate degree, an Ed.D., from Columbia University in New York.
Magleby has also studied at the American Art School and the Art Students’ League (Sweetwater).
Career
In 1959, Magleby joined the Visual Arts Faculty at BYU, where he worked for 33 years, before being designated as a professor emeritus. From 1962-1969, Magleby served as the director of the [Bent Franklin Larsen|B.F. Larsen] Gallery (Utah Artists Project).
Magleby has been recognized for his realistic style, which relies on the eastern United States tradition of tight details and glazes.
In 2006, Magleby’s painting, Last Crossing of the North Platte, Fort Casper was featured as part of Sweetwater Rescue: The Willie and Martin Handcart Story. Sweetwater Resuce was a documentary and book, distributed through Covenant Communications and Groberg Films, detailing the struggles of the Willie and Martin Handcart companies. Of his experience working on the project, Magleby said,
My major interest is painting in landscapes and especially with water, so I chose to do the river crossings. I photographed the scenes in October as we were returning to Utah from our home in Vermont. While working on the paintings I discovered my Great Grandfather, Hans Ulrich Bryner, was traveling with the oxcart company that was traveling with the Willie/Martin Handcart Company. Finding out about my family connection stirred up even more interest in the project.
Family and Personal Life
Magleby resides in Provo. In recent years, he served a painting mission for the Church, completing 24 paintings for temples around the world, including murals for the Nauvoo Temple (Sweetwater).
References
- “Francis R. Magleby.” Utah Artists Project. 2006. 21 Feb. 2008. <http://www.lib.utah.edu/fa/UtahArtists/artists/magleby/index.html>.
- “Frank Magleby.” Sweetwater Rescue: The Willie and Martin Handcart Story. 2006. Covenant Communications. 21 Feb. 2008. <http://www.sweetwaterrescue.com/artist_magleby.php>.
