Painter, muralist, educator; a “pioneer in reverse” of Utah art

Alma Brockerman Wright—known professionally as A.B. Wright—was a key early Utah painter whose career bridged academic training, ecclesiastical mural work, and the emerging modernist sensibilities of the early 20th century. Born in Salt Lake City’s old 20th Ward, Wright began his art studies under George M. Ottinger and J.T. Harwood before joining the group of Utah artists who traveled to Paris for formal training. At the Académie Julian, the École des Beaux-Arts, and the Académie Colarossi, he studied alongside fellow Utahns such as Lee Greene Richards and Mahonri Young, exhibiting in Paris salons and earning early recognition.

A skilled landscapist, Wright belonged to what art historian Robert Olpin identified as the Rocky Mountain School—artists who adapted the romantic realism of the Hudson River School to the Wasatch and surrounding ranges. Over time he shifted from a darker academic palette to the brighter, fauvist-influenced colors that characterized his later work.

Wright became a prominent muralist for the LDS Church, producing major commissions for the Hawaiian Temple (1915), the Cardston Alberta Temple (1920–24), and the Mesa Arizona Temple. He also taught for decades and, in 1931, succeeded his mentor J.T. Harwood as chair of the University of Utah’s art department. His tenure ended abruptly in 1937, after which he left Utah permanently and returned to France.

During World War II, Wright was captured by German forces and spent several years in harsh conditions in a prison camp, continuing to draw and paint with whatever materials were available. He remained in France after the war and died there in 1952. Despite personal scandals and a dramatic later life, Wright left a substantial artistic legacy—his landscapes and murals remain highly valued, and generations of Utah artists benefited from his rigorous, Paris-trained instruction.

15 BYTES article: Around the Block: A.B. Wright

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