Henry L. A. and H. Wells Culmer artwork, approximately 1874-1914

Series — Carton: 2, item: 1

Identifier: MSS 8787 Series 3

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Contains a box of small original artwork, including one piece by H. L. A. Culmer, but primarily watercolors and sketches by his son, H. Wells Culmer. Dated approximately 1874-1914.

Dates

approximately 1874-1914

Creator

Culmer, Henry L. A. (creator, Person)
Culmer, H. Wells (Henry Wells Culmer), 1883-1959 (creator, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Condition restricted. Permission to use materials must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from the Henry L. A. Culmer papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Coordinating Committee.

Biographical History

H. Wells Culmer (1883-1959) was a father and painter.

Henry Wells Culmer was born June 30, 1883, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to parents Susan Annette Wells and Henry Lavender Adolphus Culmer. He married Davina Dean Binning Cummock on April 6, 1917. Together they had at least one child, a son, Barry Wells Culmer born 1923. Like his father, though less notable, H. Wells Culmer was a painter, his wife was an artist as well. He died December 24, 1959.

Biographical History

Henry L. A. Culmer (1854-1914) was a renowned painter of the Utah wilderness and natural wonders in general.

Henry "Harry" Lavender Adolphus Culmer was born on March 25, 1854, in Darington, Kent, England. While young he apprencticed at a print shop. Converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Culmer immigrated to Utah in 1868. He married Susan Annette Wells. He graduated from the University of Deseret (now University of Utah) and studied with painters Alfred Lambourne, Reuben Kirkham, and Thomas Moan in the 1870's. Culmer was a painter of landscapes, panoramas, and rock formations. He was the first professional painter to depict the Alaskan interior and the Natural Bridges in and much of Southern Utah. His paintings played a significant role in promotion and early economic progress of the West. Culmer was an entrepreneur, developer of natural resources, miner, civic leader, playwright and lyricist, editor, and amateur geologist and naturalist. Culmer was also the first president of the Salt Lake Rotary and first president of the Utah Art Institute. His son Henry Wells Culmer is a less notable landscape painter. Culmer died in Salt Lake City in 1914.