2 ‘Art Detectives’ Solve an LDS Church History Art Mystery

This article was originally published in Deseret News by Ryan Morgenegg. Below is an excerpt.

Two “art detectives” have solved a Church history art mystery.

Enoch Wood Perry Jr. was a 19th century American painter known for his thematic and stylistic works, including many portraits and landscapes. In the 1860s he was commissioned by the Church to create portraits of early LDS leaders, such as Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and several others.

For a long time the location of some of the Perry paintings was unknown. But recently, with the help of Anthony Christensen and Ronald L. Fox, every known portrait has been found.

“The significance of these portraits is the fact that there was a very skilled artist who was featured in the Smithsonian and Metropolitan Museum who traveled out west before the train using horse and cart,” said Anthony Christensen, owner of Anthony’s Fine Art & Antiques in Salt Lake City.

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