Old West Mormon Settlers Depicted in Historic 1938 WPA Mural - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Old West Mormon Settlers Depicted in Historic 1938 WPA Mural

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Title: Old West Mormon Settlers Depicted in Historic 1938 WPA Mural


1
Old West Mormon Settlers Depicted in Historic
1938 WPA Mural The settling of the Wild West
during the great expansion period of US History
in the middle of the 1800s was greatly attributed
to the leadership of Brigham Young (then
President of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -
Mormons) with the unparalleled migration of
10,000s of people in search for religious freedom
and protection from mob violence and persecution
in the Eastern and Central US. The Great Salt
Lake region was their, then secluded, capitol but
the movement of these international Mormon
pioneers quickly expanded into all of the western
states. The settling process of communities was
often accomplished by inexperienced immigrants
looking for new opportunities. The settling of
the area meant the initial arrival of a few
folks... then a trickle of people joined them
until a town formed. This was the story of my
ancestors in Beaver, Utah... a country filled
with hunting and trapping opportunities. Such
were the beginnings, of Price, Utah in South
Central Utah among the layered tabletop fossil
filled desert landscape that worked so well as
the hideout of the famous outlaw Butch
Cassidy. It all began in 1877 when Caleb Rhoades
(Rhodes) and Abraham Powell came into the valley
to trap and homestead. It was wild country and
the story goes that Powell was killed by a bear.
But within a couple of years family members of
the trappers and other settlers were moving in.
Not long later, with the discovery and refinement
of coal as a natural resource, the area around
Price boomed. Once the coal industry began its
exploration, construction of the Denver and Rio
Grand railroad began to spread through the valley
in 1881 and Price was set up as a RR station. It
was during this industrial development that
Bishop George Frandsen established the LDS Church
organization in 1882. Under the direction of
Bishop Frandsen, the
2
townsite was surveyed, The Price Water Company
was formed to bring water to the townsite and
city building construction began including a
church building, a school and a Price City civic
building. (1)
In the ?93?s Depression Era WPA City Hall of
Price City (only 50 years after its creation),
there is a remarkable mural that documents the
history of this area and includes, prominently,
the early LDS congregation. The mural is
remarkable because, out in the middle of Billy
the Kid country one is surprised to see a quality
mural... and a big one at that! The panorama
historical WPA mural is 4' high and 200' feet
long and depicts the life of the areas original
pioneers and cowboys... truly a time capsule of
the Old West. Renown artist, Lynn Fausett, a
native of Price, Utah was just the right person
in 1938 to pull together this historically
accurate mural of his country. The Works Progress
Administration (the name was changed to the Work
Projects Administration a year after it got
started) funded a municipal building in Price
that was the perfect place for Fausetts talents
and vision for the mural. Based on photos,
entries in archives and his own personal
experiences, he planned the composition of this
historical rendering of his town for the mural.
Fausett had lived his life among the buildings in
this mural and knew these people. This mural is
an authentic historical record of actual people
(whose names are written below their portraits),
buildings, customs and the process of taming the
Wild West. The mural is a documentation of the
pioneer settlers, the beginnings of society in
the newly constructed town and the development of
the area and its industries.
Price City Hall Lobby
3
35 years ago my painting conservation career in
the USA (I studied and started working in Italy)
started in Utah and Ive known Lynn Fausetts
painting style, having worked on the restoration
of his paintings previously and looked at many
others. This mural was considered so well done
and so historical that it was a main reason why
the entire WPA funded building was added to the
US Register of Historic Properties, a
considerable honor. City officials began to be
aware of the mural looking dingy and flat and
water infiltrations had stained a few hard-to-see
areas a few years ago. Bret Cammins, an affable
get-it-done kind of city manager looked for a
professional mural restoration expert to discuss
the options. Fine Art Conservation Laboratories
is honored to have been called and entrusted with
the health and art restoration of this historical
mural, so important to the City of Price and to
the area. Click on this photo to see the short
video of the mural restoration treatments (Give
it a THUMBS UP if you like it!)
The results of the mural conservation treatments
were that the deterioration of the painting was
stabilized, it was returned to its best
appearance and the mural was protected for future
generations... which should help make some more
history. I love my job. It feels like my work is
socially conscious! Scott M. Haskins, Art
Conservator
(1) Utah Division of State History, Markers and
Monuments Database Carbon Tabernacle/Price
River Valley
4
If you would like to know more about our
background in mural restoration, see the other
art conservation videos on our YouTube channel at
https//www.youtube.com/channel/UCemzUslcaXyj4KEx2
6bnLDw Scott M. Haskins Fine Art Conservation
Laboratories (FACL, Inc.) 805 564 3438 office
faclartdoc_at_gmail.com To find out more about
Price, Utah go to https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr
ice,_Utah and http//www.priceutah.net Link to
Art Conservation Lab http//www.fineartconservati
onlab.com If you would like to know more about
what you can do to protect and preserve your
original family history items, click on this link
for a free copy of Scott M. Haskins book Save
Your Stuff Collection Care Tips, 210 pages with
35 embedded how-to videos.
Keywords mural restoration consultation, WPA
Mural, mural conservation, Scott M. Haskins, art
conservation, art restoration, painting
conservation, painting restoration, National
Register of Historic Sites, Price Utah, Lynn
Fausett, Fine Art Conservation Laboratories,
Bishop George Frandsen
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