This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's spectacular vistas have frustrated many a good artist, but Utahns can't seem to get enough of their attempts at capturing the real thing.
If you haven't you gotten your gutful of Utah landscape art this year, there is still time. (Whew.)
Several galleries and museums have stepped up to fill your void:
• "The Land" exhibits of the paintings of John McCormick at the Julie Nestor Gallery, 1755 Bonanza Drive, Park City.
• Curtis Olsen's new landscapes are hanging at the Kimball Art Center, 638 Park Ave., Park City.
• "In My Backyard," an exhibit by David Merrill, features paintings of Bridal Veil Falls, Mount Timpanogos, Stewart Falls and other landmarks of Central Utah, at Covey Center for the Arts, 425 W. Center St., Provo.
• Painter Royden Card is showing his color-saturated desert landscapes at the Jewish Community Center, 2 N. Medical Drive, Salt Lake City.
If you want to put it all into a historical and technical perspective, head down the Brigham Young University Museum of Art for "Wide-Open Spaces: Capturing the Grandeur of the American Southwest."
Artists from Maynard Dixon to Mabel Frazer have taken a shot at putting that grandeur on canvas with varying results. As 20th century painter Emil Bisttram wrote: "Whenever I tried to paint what was before me I was frustrated by the grandeur of the scenery and the limitless space. Above all there was that strange almost mystic quality of light."