Henry L. A. Culmer was born in Darington, Kent England in 1854.    Culmer played a significant role in the early economic progress of the West as a developer of natural resources, descriptive writer, and landscape painter. Working primarily in Utah, Henry Culmer became one of the Utah’s most popular painters, noted for his expansive panoramic views and paintings of rock formations. He died in Salt Lake City in 1914.

Culmer immigrated to Salt Lake City as a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1868.  After graduating from the University of Utah, he worked in a variety of jobs until settling into a business career—bookkeeper, publisher, and developer of mineral resources.  Culmer painted only when his pursuit of business, civic, and cultural pursuits allowed.  Although he was largely untrained as an artist, he studied at the University of Deseret with Alfred Lambourne and Reuben Kirkham, two early landscape painters, in the 1870s.  He also met and was influenced by Thomas Moran during that decade. 

Culmer was the first artist to paint the Alaskan interior and the first artist to paint the Natural Bridges in southern Utah. He also painted Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon.  He had a thorough knowledge of nature based on his own study and observation.  The Three Tetons demonstrates his command of topographical details and great admiration for the natural world. Augusta Natural Bridge is a notable painting of rock formations in southern Utah.

Biographical information on this page was adapted from the Springville Museum of Art.