In 1848 a man named Philo Dibble was on the plains of Iowa pulling a wagon full of his paintings, heading to Utah, thinking to himself, “When I get to Utah I’m going to have an exhibit for all of my artwork.” He arrived in Springville, stuck his cane in the ground where the Springville Museum of Art now stands and said “This is the Place.” Or something like that…

To get the history of Utah’s oldest museum, you’ll have to read the new book that comes out this Christmas. The 424-page book has been eight years in the making. Director Vern Swanson and Associate Curator of Education Jessica Weiss had many conversations about publishing a permanent collection catalog (the most recent publication was in 1972), and because the collection is so integrated with the Museum’s history, they felt it was high time to record that as well. “This book is so exciting,” says Swanson. “For the first time we’re really telling the story of the museum.” Springville Museum of Art: History and Collection is a poignant way to bid a fond farewell to Swanson, who will retire in August having served as the Museum’s director for 32 years.

The book has four authors: Vern Swanson, Jessica Weiss, Ashlee Whitaker and Nicole Romney. Weiss is proud to say most of the major players in historic Utah art have a presence in the book. The Museum’s critics point out their collection is deficient in contemporary art and the staff will not deny that their collection leans heavily on the traditional side; but that is because the Museum follows a strict values and standards document that reflects the desires of the community and the art it supports. The strong connection with Springville’s community is a tradition that began with Springville High School — the institution that established the collection and the Springville Salon in 1903. The students raised funds to purchase art and the students voted on the pieces they wanted to buy. In the 1930’s the collection became too big to manage, so under the Works Progress Administration the Springville Museum of Art was finally built to house and display the artwork.

Even with a strong vow to tradition, Weiss points out the Museum isn’t totally traditional in their acquisitions. “The Community Values and Standards (there is actually a document) leans toward traditional art, but I think people will be surprised at some of the more modern and conceptual pieces we have in the collection.” For specifics, you’ll have to wait until December when the book is available.

All the writers contributed greatly to the text, but the Museum’s history was primarily the responsibility of Swanson, who had already written a yet to be published 300-400 page history of the Museum. The history is something he holds near and dear so he took on the task of editing his history down to 40 pages for the purposes of this book. In the book you’ll find a comprehensive overview of the Museum’s collection of Utah Art, American Art and Soviet Art. “Once we began the book we realized we were weak in certain areas when it came to the collection” admits Swanson, “so there were some acquisitions made specifically for the purpose of including them in the book. You never know how glaringly good or bad you are until you start to take a comprehensive look. Now you see the warts when all you saw before were the roses.”

Anyone who talks to Swanson quickly learns all the reasons why the Springville Museum of Art is a Utah treasure. It is the oldest museum in Utah and the second oldest museum (next to Denver) in the Intermountain West. Swanson will point out Denver is on the Plains so it doesn’t really count. He also points out that their museum exhibits more Utah art than all the other Utah museums combined. After 32 devoted years to the Museum, Swanson has the right to be proud. When asked what the greatest accomplishment of his career was, he had a definitive answer: “We made the living Utah artist the central hero of this museum.” How, you might ask? Swanson’s answer was simple: “We just decided they were.” Springville kept that core value in mind with every publication, program, acquisition and competition they administered. They truly care about the artist as a person and make an effort to consult with all those who not only get into their exhibitions, but also those who get juried out. “We like to sit down with everyone and consult with them and answer any questions they have or provide any advice we can.”

Accomplishments are one thing, but what about failures? Even those who have highly successful careers fail with their ideas, programs and management. Vern Swanson claims one of his failures was his attempt to establish an Artist General Benevolent Fund (AGBF). The Royal Academy in Britain has one for all working artists, meaning if they were able to get into an exhibit they were eligible to apply for money. “As a part of putting the artist as the central hero I wanted to start a fund that would help with health insurance or getting them out of a financial bind.” In the end, his board wouldn’t let him do it. Naturally, they wanted him to focus on the museum.

Now that retirement is one month away, Vern Swanson is looking forward to being as good a volunteer at the museum as he’s been a director. “The board has asked me to be Director Emeritus. I just hope I don’t hover.” For those who know Vern Swanson the fact that he shows no sign of slowing down after retirement won’t come as a surprise. He’s in the middle of finishing several books and he has an expedition to Israel in the works. In his words, “I’ve got to retire so I can get some work done.”

15 Bytes

UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.